Artist-Walter Kuhlman

Sometimes you caught up in your own day to day life that you don't even notice things that are basically in your own backyard.
I am guilty of it and I tend to go to the same places. You could call me a creature of habit for sure.
So when I discover something new I always love sharing. In my recent adventures around the San Francisco bay area I was thrilled to learn of a wonderful new source for art (even if this is not new place- just new to me).

It's amazing what you can find when you just wander and explore.
Just about 10 minutes over the Golden Gate bridge in Sausalito- I found myself exploring and spending time learning more about artist Walter Kuhlman in the Industrial Center Building in Sausalito (which I had never heard or visited before).

A little bit about Kuhlman:
Kuhlman was one the pioneers of the San Francisco School of Abstract Expressionism as well as a member of the "Sausalito Six" – a ground-breaking group of young painters exploring the newly emerging “abstract expressionism.” (the other five were: Richard Diebenkorn, Frank Lobdell, George Stillman, John Hultberg, and James Budd Dixon).
In 1955, Kuhlman became the first artist to rent space in Sausalito’s now historic Industrial Center Building (and his studio still lives on in the same space).
Sadly, last year Kuhlman passed.



As you can see from this photo of the studio after his death- there were piles of books, papers and paintings and monotypes (produced through a multi-step and painstaking process). Curator- Amy Zwicker (Kuhlman's daughter in law) has taken over the space and cleaned every inch and organized years of Kuhlmans works.








Kuhlman's work consists of figurative and semi-figurative works- they’re communicative yet mysterious, powerful yet ephemeral, detached and yet intensely personal. I highly reccommend taking a trip over to see the studio and to check out the work. There is only a certain amount of Kuhlman's art left. As Amy said- once it is gone it will all be gone. This is a wonderful chance to start a collection (the prices can range from $1000- to over $25,000) and to really own a piece of history. Kuhlman's work is represented in the permanent collections at: Metropolitan Museum of Art, San Francisco MOMA, The British Museum (just to name a few)- as well as in fine private collections across the world.

Here are some of my favorite of Walter's work with so much more on the studios website: http://www.walterkuhlmanart.com/ or better yet- take a trip over to Sausalito (have lunch at my favorite French bistro- Le Garage) and make a expedition of it!