As one of the most important representatives of «Post-Minimalism» and «Process Art», that radically altered the notion of art again in the 1960s, Gary Kuehn (*1939) explores the tension between limitation and freedom in his work. For more than six decades, he has been developing sculptures, paintings, collages and drawings that always reveal metaphorical and psychological depths in their technical precision and material presence. The development of his work can be traced over several decades.

In spring 2025, a comprehensive retrospective «Gary Kuehn: In Situ» was dedicated to the painter, sculptor and professor emeritus at the renowned Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery at Haverford College, Haverford (USA). The solo exhibition and catalog curated by Sid Sachs placed Kuehn's work at the center of post-minimalist sculpture, which is created using everyday materials and appears like real objects in the world. 

Following on from the successful exhibition in the USA, we are delighted to be able to present works by the artist from various phases of his career in our Viewing Room «Gary Kuehn: Shaping Form from the Start» - from the early works of the 1960s and 1970s to more recent works. It becomes clear how Kuehn constantly experiments with new materials and techniques in order to explore the boundaries of art and redefine the relationship between artwork and viewer.

Gary Kuehn Single Works

«In the ’60s I worked as both a roofer and an iron worker on large-scale building projects. In the course of a day’s work, I became interested in the commonsense fact and behaviors of materials and the rationale of how buildings are put together. The logic of construction had an expressive potential that became the focus … I would go home after work and in my studio replicate some of the things I witnessed on construction sites» 'Gary Kuehn: Art of Opposing Forces' by Cindy Hinant, Provincetown Arts, 2016/17, vol. 31, S. 67.

A detailed review of the retrospective «Gary Kuehn: In Situ» at the Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery has been published in the Brooklyn Rail. Read the article by Joe Fyfe here.

Conversation with Sid Sachs and Gary Kuehn
January 24, 2025 | «Gary Kuehn: In Situ», curated by Sid Sachs at Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford College, Haverford, PA, January 24, 2025-March 7, 2025
Youtube Video, Duration: 45:08 Min

Short Biography
1939 born in New Jersey, US
lives and works in New York, US

Solo Exhibitions (Selection)
2025 «Gary Kuehn: In Situ», Cantor Fitzgerald Gallery, Haverford, US
2023 «bodies of resilience», max goelitz, München, DE (supported by Häusler Contemporary)
2022 Gary Kuehn. Box Piece», Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH
2018 »Niagara and Related Work«, Häusler Contemporary München, DE
2016 »Black Paintings«, Häusler Contemporary München, DE 
2014 »Gary Kuehn: Between Sex and Geometry«, Kunstmuseum Liechtenstein, LI
»Gary Kuehn: Gestures and Twists«, Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH
2014 »Postures«, Joe Sheftel Gallery, New York, US
2013 »Gary Kuehn. Five Decades«, Galerie Michael Haas, Berlin, DE 
2011 »Gary Kuehn. Selected Works – Four Decades«, Häusler Contemporary München, DE »Gary Kuehn. Expression – Surpression«, Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH
2008 »Gary Kuehn – Assertive Figures/Subverted Gestures«, Museum gegenstandsfreier Kunst, Otterndorf, DE 
2001 Margarete Roeder Gallery, New York, US 
1998 Galerie Ricke, Köln, DE 
1988 Galerie Jule Kewenig, Frechen, DE 
1986 Galerie Rudolf Zwirner, Köln, DE 
1980 »Berliner Serie«, Württembergischer Kunstverein Stuttgart, DE 
1971 Fischbach Gallery, New York, US
Neue Galerie der Stadt Aachen, DE
Fischbach Gallery, New York, US 
1967 Galerie Rolf Ricke, Kassel, DE 
1962 »Recent Work«, Rutgers University, Douglass College, New Brunswick, US

Group Exhibitions (Selection)
2021 »Nothing is Lost. Art and Matter in Transformation», GAMeC - Galleria d'Arte Moderna e Contemporanea, Bergamo, IT
2019 »Idee – Konzept – Objekt«, Häusler Contemporary München, DE
»Sculptura«, Häusler Contemporary Zürich, CH
2017 »Primary Structures. Meisterwerke der Minimal Art«, Museum für Moderne Kunst (MMK), Frankfurt am Main, DE
»Kunst ins Leben! Der Sammler Wolfgang Hahn und die 60er Jahre«, Museum Ludwig, Köln, DE
»Deadeye Dick: Richard Bellamy and His Circle«, Peter Freeman, New York City, US

You can find the complete biography here.

More information about the artist here.