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Lot Essay
Miriam Cahn has always been concerned with issues such as feminism, child protection, war, violence, and refugees, and she expresses her discontent, fear, or resistance through artistic methods that are often perceived as too radical or controversial. Cahn is a master of using rich colours and varied brushstrokes to create abstract and profound spaces on the canvas. Featuring one or several naked figures with blurry faces, the images allude to specific social events or reflect primal human desires. Her works are filled with intense emotions. Whether expressing anger or passion, or inspiring reflection, they compel the viewer to confront the distress and challenges of reality.
FLUCHT(mit geschwister fluchten), 2010 + 26.02.2020 (ESCAPE (fleeing with siblings), 2010 + 26.02.2020), painted between 2010 and 2020, is a work that encapsulates Cahn’s artistic maturity and a rare large-scale oil painting in the market. The title ‘FLUCHT’ refers to the refugees, as the artist spotlights the refugees forced to flee their homes during the war. She employs large strokes of contrasting and highly saturated colours while using a deep, gloomy purple as the background, creating a surreal and desolate atmosphere that makes the figures in the painting stand out. The two characters portrayed look like two sisters relying on each other during their flight. Their facial features are blurred, yet their naked bodies are distinctly outlined, with all their possessions fit into a single plastic bag. By presenting the body in its most primitive state, Cahn restores life to its vulnerable and naked essence, expressing anger over the injustices suffered by immigrant communities and shame at the folly of human actions.
Miram Cahn was born in 1949 in Basel, Switzerland to a family immersed in music and art. Between 1968 and 1973, she studied at Schule für Gestaltung Basel, majoring in graphic design. Although Cahn’s artistic career began between mid and late 1970s, she was actively involved in the gender equality movement and the campaign to abolish nuclear weapon during her student years, and the experiences laid a solid foundation for her later artistic endeavours. Cahn’s artistic practice is rich and diverse, as it encompasses performance art, drawing, photography and writing. Notably, she avoided using oil paint in her work before the age of fifty, as she had considered it a traditionally masculine medium. However, since she began experimenting with oil painting in the 1990s, a dreamy colour palette gradually became a prominent feature of her work.
In 1983, Cahn became the first female artist to hold a solo exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel. In the following year, she represented Sweden at the 41st Venice Biennale. From February to May 2023, the Palais de Tokyo held a large-scale retrospective titled Ma pensée sérielle, marking Cahn’s first solo exhibition held at an art institution in France. Her works are currently in the collections of major international art institutions such as the Pinault Collection in Paris, Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. In recent years, Cahn’s works have performed strongly in the secondary market, as they are highly sought after by collectors. Nine of her top ten auction results were recorded in 2023, which demonstrates the recognition and appreciation for Cahn’s works in the market.
FLUCHT(mit geschwister fluchten), 2010 + 26.02.2020 (ESCAPE (fleeing with siblings), 2010 + 26.02.2020), painted between 2010 and 2020, is a work that encapsulates Cahn’s artistic maturity and a rare large-scale oil painting in the market. The title ‘FLUCHT’ refers to the refugees, as the artist spotlights the refugees forced to flee their homes during the war. She employs large strokes of contrasting and highly saturated colours while using a deep, gloomy purple as the background, creating a surreal and desolate atmosphere that makes the figures in the painting stand out. The two characters portrayed look like two sisters relying on each other during their flight. Their facial features are blurred, yet their naked bodies are distinctly outlined, with all their possessions fit into a single plastic bag. By presenting the body in its most primitive state, Cahn restores life to its vulnerable and naked essence, expressing anger over the injustices suffered by immigrant communities and shame at the folly of human actions.
Miram Cahn was born in 1949 in Basel, Switzerland to a family immersed in music and art. Between 1968 and 1973, she studied at Schule für Gestaltung Basel, majoring in graphic design. Although Cahn’s artistic career began between mid and late 1970s, she was actively involved in the gender equality movement and the campaign to abolish nuclear weapon during her student years, and the experiences laid a solid foundation for her later artistic endeavours. Cahn’s artistic practice is rich and diverse, as it encompasses performance art, drawing, photography and writing. Notably, she avoided using oil paint in her work before the age of fifty, as she had considered it a traditionally masculine medium. However, since she began experimenting with oil painting in the 1990s, a dreamy colour palette gradually became a prominent feature of her work.
In 1983, Cahn became the first female artist to hold a solo exhibition at Kunstmuseum Basel. In the following year, she represented Sweden at the 41st Venice Biennale. From February to May 2023, the Palais de Tokyo held a large-scale retrospective titled Ma pensée sérielle, marking Cahn’s first solo exhibition held at an art institution in France. Her works are currently in the collections of major international art institutions such as the Pinault Collection in Paris, Tate Modern in London, the Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid. In recent years, Cahn’s works have performed strongly in the secondary market, as they are highly sought after by collectors. Nine of her top ten auction results were recorded in 2023, which demonstrates the recognition and appreciation for Cahn’s works in the market.