I’m sure we have all been out there and seen the sun shine through a blanket of moisture to create a rainbow. In our minds, we all wonder where it ends and if there is a pot of gold.
Artist Kevin Kuhn, better known as Karma Glass, is most likely what you’d actually find at that end of the rainbow. His intentions are clear, positive and enduring. He is a particular kind of being, one that follows intuition with intention.
When we asked him about his chosen colorway, he said: “When we think of visionary art, we think of grandiose, the 22-petal lily across the room. With my ‘Karma Stack,’ I’m trying to distill down the psychedelic realm to the baseline of the experience to see what you can bring into this dimension.”
Kuhn continued, “You think of the rainbow trails you’ll see during a vision and the auras that you are able to read off of people. And that’s why tie-dye is so pervasive in our community, (it) is because it’s exciting to look at while you are having an experience. What I’ve tried to do is distill down this kind of loving experience of glass that is inclusive over exclusive. When you come to a show or have a viewing with my art, it’s meant to draw you in. Come celebrate, do a dance, enjoy the energy. That’s what I stand for, and that’s what my collector base stands for. A bit of the ‘One Love’ nature, I’m trying to distill that essence down to a technicolor pattern for all to experience.”
From some of the largest names in the industry to the new glassblower next door, Kuhn has felt fortunate to collaborate with many artists. He views it as a mandatory effort to keep art growing in all facets. Kuhn is not one to name-drop; he truly sees each experience as its own and learns and grows from them. When we asked him about the many collaborations he has been a part of over the years, he told us a story about the Pygmy people, the Indigenous tribes that survive in the remotest-of-the-remote jungles of the Congo. They have a saying, a proverb, that has inspired and influenced his entire career: “If you want to go fast, go alone; if you want to go far, go together.”
“Work with others” is more than a mantra for him; he truly believes in always having your heart open to creating with the next artist you encounter.
“The more isolated we are, the less we truly learn,” he stated. We went on to talk about life and growing up. Kuhn put it perfectly when he said, “I sit at all the lunch tables. I’ve never really met a stranger, and that is my mentality in life.”
This year, Kuhn is traveling west in preparation for his fall opening, “Vibratious,” which will be held in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. Stay tuned for more details on his social media.
