mona kuhn captures intimate portraits of the human form in dreamy large-scale photographs

los angeles-based photographer mona kuhn captures intimate portraits of the human form, often combined with dreamy shots of deserted natural landscapes, domestic interiors, and other spatial details. through a series of visual strategies, such as translucency, her works showcase the human body in its most natural state while exploring its connection to the built environment.

all photographs © mona kuhn

the american photographer approaches her subjects by developing close relationships with them, resulting in portraits of remarkable intimacy and sense of comfort. beyond the still shot series, mona kuhn has collaborated with composer boris salchow to create her first fully immersive site-specific installation (see video). titled experimental, the project brings together three-meter-tall (ten ft) photographic panels alongside mixed media, video projections and spatial sound design.

born in são paulo, brazil, in 1969, and of german descent, kuhn moved to the US and obtained her BA from the ohio state university, before furthering her studies at the san francisco art institute. her work can be found in private and public collections worldwide, including the j. paul getty museum and the los angeles county museum of art, while it has been exhibited at the louvre museum and le bal in paris; the whitechapel gallery and royal academy of arts in london; musée de l’elysée in switzerland; leopold museum in vienna, and australian centre for photography, sydney. she is currently an independent scholar at the getty research institute in LA, and occasionally teaches at UCLA and the art center college of design in pasadena.

project info:

artist: mona kuhn