# Ned Kahn

Ned Kahn is an environmental artist and sculptor, known in particular for museum exhibits, one of which is the Exploratorium in San Francisco. His work usually intends to make an invisible aspect of nature, visible.

## Early life

Kahn was born in New York City and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. At the age of 10, he staged his first exhibition of sculptures fashioned from salvaged junkyard items, where his mother had taken him.
After graduating with a degree in botany and environmental science from the University of Connecticut, in 1982, Kahn moved to San Francisco, where he was fascinated by the Exploratorium. He worked there from 1982 to 1996 under the tutelage of the museum's founder, Frank Oppenheimer. In 2001, Kahn became the artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts.
Kahn moved from San Francisco to Graton, California in 1998 and works from the Ned Kahn Studios in Sebastopol. He is married and has two children. Kahn cites his daily meditation routine as key to his artistic development.

## Awards

   Often when you ask scientists, 'How did you get into your field?', you find out it was an aesthetic experience. Geologists just love rocks. It's the sensory connection that gets them started.
— Ned Kahn, quoted in 2004 Sunset magazine article
Kahn won a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" fellowship in 2003, and the National Design Award for landscape architecture in 2005.

## Works

Some examples of Kahn's work to capture the invisible include building facades that move in waves in response to wind; indoor tornadoes and vortices made of fog, steam, or fire; and a transparent sphere containing water and sand which, when spun, erodes a beach-like ripple pattern into the sand surface. In 2003 Kahn collaborated with Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Inc. on Articulated Cloud, a piece installed on the exterior walls of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh consisting of hundreds of movable flaps that respond to the wind creating visible patterns.
His work is in the collection of di Rosa, Napa.
Selected works by Ned Kahn :
| Title | Element | Location | City | State/ Country | Year | Notes |
| Aeolian Landscape | Sand | Museum of Life and Science | Durham | North Carolina | 1993 | Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. |
| Articulated Cloud | Wind | Children's Museum of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 2004 | Collaboration with Konig/Eizenberg |
| Avalanche | Sand | Children's Museum of Pittsburgh | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 2011 | A similar piece named Negev Wheel has been exhibited at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. |
| Braided Stream | Wind | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | | |
| Breathing Sky | Fog | Yerba Buena Center for the Arts | San Francisco | California | 1995 | |
| Bus Jet Fountain | Water | Salesforce Transit Center | San Francisco | California | 2018 | |
| Chain of Ether | Wind | ResMed Corporation | San Diego | California | 2009 | |
| Chaotic Pendulum | | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | | |
| Circadian Wind | Wind | Circa Parking Deck | Los Angeles | California | 2019 | |
| Circular Wave Umbrella | Wind | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | | |
| Cloud Arbor | Fog | Buhl Community Park | Pittsburgh | Pennsylvania | 2012 | Collaboration with Andi Cochran |
| Cloud Portal | Fog | Davis Court | San Francisco | California | 2011 | Collaboration with RHAA |
| Cloud Rings | Fog | 21c Museum Hotel Louisville | Louisville | Kentucky | 2006 | An installation with the same name is on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. |
| Cloud Vessel | Fog | The Docks | Sacramento | California | 2010 | Collaboration with Walker Macy |
| Digitized Field | Wind | AT&T Building | Santa Rosa | California | 2004 | |
| Divided Sea | Water | Emerald Glen Park | Dublin | California | 2004 | |
| Duales Systems Pavilion | Fog | Expo 2000 | Hanover | Germany | 2000 | Collaboration with Uwe Bruckner |
| Enagua | Wind | Playa Vista | Los Angeles | California | 2015 | Collaboration with Johnson/Fain |
| Encircled Cloud | Fog | Paradise Ridge Winery and Sculpture Garden | Santa Rosa | California | 2012 | |
| Encircled Stream | Water | Founders Court Seattle Center | Seattle | Washington | 1995 | Collaboration with Atelier Landscape Architects |
| Encircled Void | Wind | Bertolini Student Center Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | California | 2010 | |
| Erratic Fence | Wind | Sonoma County Museum | Santa Rosa | California | 2015 | Collaboration with Jensen Architects |
| Feather Wall | Wind | Robert B. Green Clinical Pavilion | San Antonio | Texas | 2012 | Collaboration with Overland Partners and RTKL |
| Field of Air | Wind | Denver International Airport between Jeppesen Terminal and Westin Hotel | Denver | Colorado | 2015 | Collaboration with Gensler |
| Fire Vortex | Fire/Light | Technorama | Winterthur | Switzerland | 1997 | |
| Firefly | Fire/Light | San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Civic Center | San Francisco | California | 2012 | |
| Fluvial Storm | Sand | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | 1990 | |
| Glacial Facade | Fire/Light | Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride | Issaquah | Washington | 2006 | |
| Greenhouse Project | Fire/Light | San Francisco County Jail 3 | San Bruno | California | 1990 | |
| Hidden Sea | Wind | Ceatrice Polite Apartments | San Francisco | California | 2000 | |
| Hyperbolic Paraboloid | Wind | Crossroads School | Santa Monica | California | 2015 | Collaboration with Fred Fisher |
| Liquid Pixels | Wind | Rosslyn 1801 N Lynn St | Arlington | Virginia | 2002 | |
| Magnetic Field Stone | Sand | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | 1996 | |
| Mare Undurum | Fire/Light | Tempe Center for the Arts | Tempe | Arizona | 2008 | |
| Microturbines | Wind | Santa Rosa Junior College | Santa Rosa | California | 2009 | |
| Net of Indra | Fire/Light | Automated Garage at City Hall | West Hollywood | California | | Collaboration with Rick D'Amato |
| Pebble Chime | Sand | Discovery World Pier Wisconsin | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 2006 | |
| Pedibrion Falls | Water | 21c Museum Hotel Durham | Durham | North Carolina | 2015 | |
| Prairie Tree | Wind | Nicollet Mall | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 2017 | |
| Prism Tunnel | Fire/Light | Children's Garden Huntington Library Gardens | San Marino | California | 2004 | |
| Project Lions | Wind | Debenhams flagship Oxford Street | London | England | 2014 | Collaboration with Archial Architects |
| Quantum Wave | Water | ATF Headquarters | Washington | District of Columbia | 2008 | |
| Rain Oculus | Water | Marina Bay Sands | | Singapore | 2011 | Collaboration with Moshe Safdie |
| Rain Portal | Water | San Francisco Public Utilities Commission | San Francisco | California | 2012 | Deaccessioned in 2018 due to persistent leakage. |
| Rainbow Arbor | Fog | Skirball Cultural Center | Los Angeles | California | 2008 | Collaboration with Moshe Safdie |
| Rift Zone | Sand | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | | |
| Seismic Sea | Water | Pasadena Museum of California Art | Pasadena | California | 2009 | |
| Sonic Pool | Water | Children's Garden Huntington Library Gardens | San Marino | California | 2004 | |
| Sonic Range | Sand | Exploratorium | San Francisco | California | 1992 | |
| Spoonfall | Water | H2 Hotel | Healdsburg | California | 2010 | |
| Subducted Landscapes | Sand | Chevron Texaco Headquarters | San Ramon | California | 2002 | |
| Technorama Facade | Wind | Technorama The Swiss Science Center | Winterthur | Switzerland | 2002 | |
| Tipping Wall | Water | Marina Bay Sands | | Singapore | 2011 | Collaboration with Moshe Safdie |
| Tornado | Fog | World Financial Center Battery Park City | New York | New York | 1990 | Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. |
| Turbulent Line | Wind | Brisbane Airport | Brisbane | Australia | 2012 | Collaboration with UAP |
| Turbulent Orb | Water | World Financial Center Battery Park City | New York | New York | 1990 | Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. |
| Turbulent Shade | Wind | City Hall | Chandler | Arizona | 2010 | |
| Vertical Canal | Wind | Rijkswaterstaat | Utrecht | Netherlands | 2008 | |
| The Wave | Wind | Target Field | Minneapolis | Minnesota | 2010 | Collaboration with Tom Oslund and Associates |
| Wave Oculus | Water | Union Point Pier | Oakland | California | 2006 | |
| Wavespout (Breathing Sea) | Water | Ventura Pier | San Buenaventura | California | 1993 | Destroyed by 1995 storm along with 420 feet (130 m) of the Pier |
| Wind Arbor | Wind | Marina Bay Sands | | Singapore | 2011 | Collaboration with Moshe Safdie |
| Wind Cube | Wind | [private collection] | Santa Rosa | California | 2005 | |
| Wind Fence | Wind | University of Oregon | Eugene | Oregon | | |
| Wind Fingers | Wind | [private collection] | Sebastopol | California | | |
| Wind Fins | Wind | Neiman Marcus | Walnut Creek | California | 2012 | |
| Wind House | Wind | DiRosa Art and Nature Preserve | Napa | California | 2003 | |
| Wind Leaves | Wind | Discovery World Pier Wisconsin | Milwaukee | Wisconsin | 2006 | |
| Wind Portal | Wind | San Francisco International Airport station | San Francisco | California | 2003 | |
| Wind Roundabout | Wind | Traffic roundabout | Fort Worth | Texas | 2015 | |
| Wind Silos | Wind | International Trade Center | Charlotte | North Carolina | 2006 | |
| Wind Veil | Wind | Gateway Village | Charlotte | North Carolina | 2000 | |