“Beloved Ghosts in the Sanctuary of Memory”
Blending personal narratives and cultural influences, artist Aunia Kahn paints portraiture ripe with symbolism. The gouache works feature female figures surrounded by ornate framing and repeating patterns. Birds and flowers are two of the most prominent symbols, communicating themes of freedom and rebirth. They are universal subjects that have particular significance to Kahn as it relates to her life and artistic journey.
“As a professional artist,” Kahn shares with My Modern Met, “life-threatening allergies to all mediums forced me into digital art from 2004 to 2018. When I finally received the right diagnoses and medications, transitioning to traditional mediums meant learning art almost from scratch.” This included translating her world. “I realized somewhere along the way I had lost my joy. I looked around at my home, my wardrobe, my whole life, and saw bold colors, rich patterns, and symbolism everywhere. My art just needed to catch up.”
Starting over inspired Kahn to return to her roots in Michigan and Canada, and to the German and Polish folk art from her grandparents’ home. “Everything clicked,” she says. “Themes of sanctuary, life and death, and transformation have always run through my life and finally had a visual language to match. Placing the human figure at the center felt completely natural. People are how I tell that story.”
Fusing heritage with her own history gives Kahn’s work a sense of depth that recalls the past but is fully planted in the now. Her style, with more rendered figures at the forefront, is surrounded by stylized elements, offering viewers much to look at and consider. Kahn might not be telling us the whole story, word for word, but in piecing together the rich tapestry of her compositions, we come to an innate understanding of the figures and who they are at that moment in time.
While Kahn is a practicing professional artist, she also works to shine a light on other creatives. “I am the co-owner of Poetic Tiger Gallery and the Editor-in-Chief of Hyperlux Magazine,” she explains. “Supporting and promoting other artists is something I am deeply passionate about.”
Scroll down to see more work by the artist and for even more, follow Aunia Kahn on Instagram.
Blending personal narratives and cultural influences, artist Aunia Kahn paints portraiture ripe with symbolism.
“We Holds Every Goodbye in Our Body Like a Landscape”
“When the Soul Fractures into Constellations”
The gouache works feature female figures surrounded by ornate framing and repeating patterns. Birds and flowers are two of the most prominent symbols, communicating themes of freedom and rebirth.
“When Understanding Transforms into Crown”
They are universal subjects that have particular significance to Kahn as it relates to her life and artistic journey.
“Historical Altar of Ones Own Becoming”
“Love Means Bearing Witness to Your Tender Unraveling”
“As a professional artist,” Kahn shares with My Modern Met, “life-threatening allergies to all mediums forced me into digital art from 2004 to 2018. When I finally received the right diagnoses and medications, transitioning to traditional mediums meant learning art almost from scratch.”
“Rooted In the Language of Gilded Cages”
“Where the Eye of the Heart Watches Over Every Living Things”
“I realized somewhere along the way I had lost my joy. I looked around at my home, my wardrobe, my whole life, and saw bold colors, rich patterns, and symbolism everywhere. My art just needed to catch up.”
“Where Starlight Goes to Hide from Morning”
“The Impossible Physics of Staying Whole”
Starting over inspired Kahn to return to her roots in Michigan and Canada, and to the German and Polish folk art from her grandparents’ home.
“Thoughtful Stewardship of Anatomical Architecture”
“When The Storm Arrived It Found Her Blooming In Defiance”
“Everything clicked,” she says. “Themes of sanctuary, life and death, and transformation have always run through my life and finally had a visual language to match. Placing the human figure at the center felt completely natural. People are how I tell that story.”
“Every Flower That Bloomed From Their Heads Was a Word They Had to Say”
