† Arthur Edward Kern
(American/Louisiana, b. 1931)
"Untitled", 1978
molded polyester resin
on an integral carved wood base.
h. 7-7/8", w. 9", d. 4-1/8"
Provenance: Estate of Thomas B. Lemann, New Orleans, Louisiana.

Reference: "In Perspective: Horse Sense", Art & Antiques, March 2022, p. 30.; Campbell Robertson, "At 84, an Artist Tries Something New", The New York Times, 28 March, 2016.

To have a fully conceived idea before I start a piece would seem wrong to me. I like to explore and be surprised by what I find along the way.
-- Arthur Kern
"Horse Sense", Art & Antiques

Despite serving on the faculty of Tulane University and the University of Southern Louisiana for decades, Kern was a bit of an enigmatic figure. For years, unbeknownst to most in the art community of New Orleans, he had been diligently working on his fantastical, often surrealist sculptures. It wasn't until 2016, when he was in his mid-80s, that he agreed to an exhibition of his work to be held at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art. His smoothly surfaced, monochrome sculptures were created mostly of molded polyester resin finished with layers of lacquer. Kern utilized unusual and unexpected tools, such as dental implements and vegetable peelers. His slightly unsettling figures of animals, hybrids and distorted or truncated human figures reference mythologies, folk tales and the recesses of Kern's creative mind, and were nearly universally lauded by collectors and critics alike.

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