folkartwork

MAX is a multimedia artist born in 1989 from Richmond, Virginia. Formerly a self-taught tattoo artist, Kuhn traveled extensively throughout the United States, Canada, and Europe for over a decade.

Using limited painting techniques originally developed for making tattoo flash designs, he began illustrating an on-going travelogue on scrap cardboard and old book covers during long periods of solitary travel.  His paintings depict the folkloric characters of cowboy or hobo, often incorporating diaristic and confessional writing. 

“For me, they are pretty untethered from any kind of real history or nostalgia or something. It’s just the use of simple icons to represent something harder to get your hands around. They act as alter-egos, a way of blending actual experience and memory with a more collective myth.”

Following more opportunities to begin exhibiting his work, Kuhn’s practice expanded to include collage, sculpture, printmaking, large scale diorama & audio-video pieces. Kuhn has had several solo exhibitions across the United States and self-published several monographs. His work is widely collected by an international audience. He currently lives and works between northern New Mexico and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

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