Ned Kahn
Ned Kahn is an environmental artist and sculptor, known in particular for museum exhibits, one of which is the Exploratorium in San Francisco. His work usually intends to make an invisible aspect of nature, visible.
Ned Kahn

affinity · AIR! Elemental Interactions · CC BY 2.0
- Name
- Ned Kahn
- Education
- University of Connecticut
- Born
- 1960 · Connecticut.
- Nationality
- United States
- Occupation
- artist · sculptor
- Fields
- public art
- Movements
- contemporary art
- Known for
- Wind Leaves
- Honours
- MacArthur Fellows Program
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Documentary summary
Ned Kahn is an environmental artist and sculptor, known in particular for museum exhibits, one of which is the Exploratorium in San Francisco. His work usually intends to make an invisible aspect of nature, visible.
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In this article
Key facts
Key facts
• Name — Ned Kahn • Education — University of Connecticut • Website — nedkahn.com
Early life
Early life
Kahn was born in New York City and raised in Stamford, Connecticut. At the age of 10, he staged his first exhibition of sculptures fashioned from salvaged junkyard items, where his mother had taken him. After graduating with a degree in botany and environmental science from the University of Connecticut, in 1982, Kahn moved to San Francisco, where he was fascinated by the Exploratorium. He worked there from 1982 to 1996 under the tutelage of the museum's founder, Frank Oppenheimer. In 2001, Kahn became the artist in residence at the Headlands Center for the Arts. Kahn moved from San Francisco to Graton, California in 1998 and works from the Ned Kahn Studios in Sebastopol. He is married and has two children. Kahn cites his daily meditation routine as key to his artistic development.
Works
Works
• Illustration — Cloud Rings at the Exploratorium Some examples of Kahn's work to capture the invisible include building facades that move in waves in response to wind; indoor tornadoes and vortices made of fog, steam, or fire; and a transparent sphere containing water and sand which, when spun, erodes a beach-like ripple pattern into the sand surface. In 2003 Kahn collaborated with Koning Eizenberg Architecture, Inc. on Articulated Cloud, a piece installed on the exterior walls of the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh consisting of hundreds of movable flaps that respond to the wind creating visible patterns. His work is in the collection of di Rosa, Napa. Selected works by Ned Kahn • Title — Image — Element — Location — City — State/ Country — Year — Notes — Refs. • Aeolian Landscape — — Sand — Museum of Life and Science — Durham — North Carolina — 1993 — Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. • Articulated Cloud — — Wind — Children's Museum of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh — Pennsylvania — 2004 — Collaboration with Konig/Eizenberg • Avalanche — — Sand — Children's Museum of Pittsburgh — Pittsburgh — Pennsylvania — 2011 — A similar piece named Negev Wheel has been exhibited at the Contemporary Jewish Museum in San Francisco. • Braided Stream — Wind — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California • Breathing Sky — Fog — Yerba Buena Center for the Arts — San Francisco — California — 1995 • Bus Jet Fountain — — Water — Salesforce Transit Center — San Francisco — California — 2018 • Chain of Ether — Wind — ResMed Corporation — San Diego — California — 2009 • Chaotic Pendulum — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California • Circadian Wind — • Illustration — Circa Parking Garage, LA, CA — Wind — Circa Parking Deck — Los Angeles — California — 2019 • Circular Wave Umbrella — Wind — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California • Cloud Arbor — — Fog — Buhl Community Park — Pittsburgh — Pennsylvania — 2012 — Collaboration with Andi Cochran • Cloud Portal — — Fog — Davis Court — San Francisco — California — 2011 — Collaboration with RHAA • Cloud Rings — — Fog — 21c Museum Hotel Louisville — Louisville — Kentucky — 2006 — An installation with the same name is on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. • Cloud Vessel — Fog — The Docks — Sacramento — California — 2010 — Collaboration with Walker Macy • Digitized Field — — Wind — AT&T Building — Santa Rosa — California — 2004 • Divided Sea — Water — Emerald Glen Park — Dublin — California — 2004 • Duales Systems Pavilion — Fog — Expo 2000 — Hanover — Germany — 2000 — Collaboration with Uwe Bruckner • Enagua — Wind — Playa Vista — Los Angeles — California — 2015 — Collaboration with Johnson/Fain • Encircled Cloud — Fog — Paradise Ridge Winery and Sculpture Garden — Santa Rosa — California — 2012 • Encircled Stream — Water — Founders Court Seattle Center — Seattle — Washington — 1995 — Collaboration with Atelier Landscape Architects • Encircled Void — Wind — Bertolini Student Center Santa Rosa Junior College — Santa Rosa — California — 2010 • Erratic Fence — Wind — Sonoma County Museum — Santa Rosa — California — 2015 — Collaboration with Jensen Architects • Feather Wall — Wind — Robert B. Green Clinical Pavilion — San Antonio — Texas — 2012 — Collaboration with Overland Partners and RTKL • Field of Air — Wind — Denver International Airport between Jeppesen Terminal and Westin Hotel — Denver — Colorado — 2015 — Collaboration with Gensler • Fire Vortex — Fire/Light — Technorama — Winterthur — Switzerland — 1997 • Firefly — — Fire/Light — San Francisco Public Utilities Commission Civic Center — San Francisco — California — 2012 • Fluvial Storm — Sand — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California — 1990 • Glacial Facade — Fire/Light — Issaquah Highlands Park and Ride — Issaquah — Washington — 2006 • Greenhouse Project — Fire/Light — San Francisco County Jail 3 — San Bruno — California — 1990 • Hidden Sea — Wind — Ceatrice Polite Apartments — San Francisco — California — 2000 • Hyperbolic Paraboloid — Wind — Crossroads School — Santa Monica — California — 2015 — Collaboration with Fred Fisher • Liquid Pixels — — Wind — Rosslyn 1801 N Lynn St — Arlington — Virginia — 2002 • Magnetic Field Stone — Sand — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California — 1996 • Mare Undurum — — Fire/Light — Tempe Center for the Arts — Tempe — Arizona — 2008 • Microturbines — Wind — Santa Rosa Junior College — Santa Rosa — California — 2009 • Net of Indra — Fire/Light — Automated Garage at City Hall — West Hollywood — California — Collaboration with Rick D'Amato • Pebble Chime — Sand — Discovery World Pier Wisconsin — Milwaukee — Wisconsin — 2006 • Pedibrion Falls — Water — 21c Museum Hotel Durham — Durham — North Carolina — 2015 • Prairie Tree — Wind — Nicollet Mall — Minneapolis — Minnesota — 2017 • Prism Tunnel — — Fire/Light — Children's Garden Huntington Library Gardens — San Marino — California — 2004 • Project Lions — — Wind — Debenhams flagship Oxford Street — London — England — 2014 — Collaboration with Archial Architects • Quantum Wave — — Water — ATF Headquarters — Washington — District of Columbia — 2008 • Rain Oculus — — Water — Marina Bay Sands — Singapore — 2011 — Collaboration with Moshe Safdie • Rain Portal — Water — San Francisco Public Utilities Commission — San Francisco — California — 2012 — Deaccessioned in 2018 due to persistent leakage. • Rainbow Arbor — — Fog — Skirball Cultural Center — Los Angeles — California — 2008 — Collaboration with Moshe Safdie • Rift Zone — Sand — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California • Seismic Sea — Water — Pasadena Museum of California Art — Pasadena — California — 2009 • Sonic Pool — — Water — Children's Garden Huntington Library Gardens — San Marino — California — 2004 • Sonic Range — — Sand — Exploratorium — San Francisco — California — 1992 • Spoonfall — — Water — H2 Hotel — Healdsburg — California — 2010 • Subducted Landscapes — Sand — Chevron Texaco Headquarters — San Ramon — California — 2002 • Technorama Facade — — Wind — Technorama The Swiss Science Center — Winterthur — Switzerland — 2002 • Tipping Wall — Water — Marina Bay Sands — Singapore — 2011 — Collaboration with Moshe Safdie • Tornado — — Fog — World Financial Center Battery Park City — New York — New York — 1990 — Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. • Turbulent Line — Wind — Brisbane Airport — Brisbane — Australia — 2012 — Collaboration with UAP • Turbulent Orb — — Water — World Financial Center Battery Park City — New York — New York — 1990 — Also on exhibit at the Exploratorium in San Francisco. • Turbulent Shade — Wind — City Hall — Chandler — Arizona — 2010 • Vertical Canal — Wind — Rijkswaterstaat — Utrecht — Netherlands — 2008 • The Wave — Wind — Target Field — Minneapolis — Minnesota — 2010 — Collaboration with Tom Oslund and Associates • Wave Oculus — — Water — Union Point Pier — Oakland — California — 2006 • Wavespout (Breathing Sea) — Water — Ventura Pier — San Buenaventura — California — 1993 — Destroyed by 1995 storm along with 420 ft of the Pier • Wind Arbor — — Wind — Marina Bay Sands — Singapore — 2011 — Collaboration with Moshe Safdie • Wind Cube — Wind — [private collection] — Santa Rosa — California — 2005 • Wind Fence — — Wind — University of Oregon — Eugene — Oregon • Wind Fingers — Wind — [private collection] — Sebastopol — California • Wind Fins — Wind — Neiman Marcus — Walnut Creek — California — 2012 • Wind House — Wind — DiRosa Art and Nature Preserve — Napa — California — 2003 • Wind Leaves — Wind — Discovery World Pier Wisconsin — Milwaukee — Wisconsin — 2006 • Wind Portal — — Wind — San Francisco International Airport station — San Francisco — California — 2003 • Wind Roundabout — Wind — Traffic roundabout — Fort Worth — Texas — 2015 • Wind Silos — Wind — International Trade Center — Charlotte — North Carolina — 2006 • Wind Veil — Wind — Gateway Village — Charlotte — North Carolina — 2000

Our speakers, David Boyer, Ned Kahn, Lissa Shoun and our host, Will Roger Peterson
affinity · AIR! Elemental Interactions

The landscape of vibration
Lisa Brewster from San Francisco, USA · The landscape of vibration
Life and career
Dated record
Life and career
The full dated record · 1 entries
1960
Ned Kahn born at Connecticut.
Awards
Kahn won a MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" fellowship in 2003, and the National Design Award for landscape architecture in 2005.
Notes from the source article
Cited by Wikipedia
Notes from the source article
These works are cited by the source article, in its own numbering. They are recorded as its citations, not as sources VALÉORINE has verified.
- 1.Decarlo, Tessa. Persuading Nature to Perform Its Stormy Weather Dances. The New York Times. 1996-08-18. 0362-4331.
- 2.Greenwald, Jeff. The Art of Inquiry. Tricycle. Fall 2004.
- 3.Fish, Peter. The Nature of Art. Sunset. August 14, 2004.
- 4.Greenwald, Jeff. Ned Kahn: The Limits of the Knowable. Smithsonian. July 31, 2011.
- 5.Ned Kahn: About. Denver Public Art.
- 6.MacArthur Foundation. Ned Kahn, Artist and Science Exhibit Designer Class of 2003. October 5, 2003.
- 7.Asimov, Nanette. Genius rewarded / 3 from Bay Area win grants from MacArthur Foundation. San Francisco Chronicle. October 5, 2003.
- 8.2005 National Design Award Winners. Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum. 24 September 2019.
- 9.Winners of the Sixth Annual National Design Awards. Dexigner. October 21, 2005.
- 10.Collection in Focus: Ned Kahn | di Rosa. 22 December 2015.
- 11.Kahn, Ned. Portfolio. Ned Kahn.
- 12.Aeolian Landscape by Ned Kahn. Exploratorium.
- 13.Articulated Cloud. Americans for the Arts. 15 May 2019.
- 14.Articulated Cloud Ned Kahn. Arch2O.
- 15.Paull, Laura. Humongous wheel at CJM turns Israeli sand into art. The Jewish News of Northern California. July 29, 2016.
- 16.Braided Stream. Exploratorium. 10 April 2018.
- 17.Casey, Cindy. Bus Jet Fountain. Art and Architecture SF. October 2, 2018.
- 18.Showley, Roger. ResMed: A palace of art that inspires office workers. The San Diego Union-Tribune. April 6, 2012.
- 19.Chaotic Pendulum. Exploratorium. 5 April 2018.
- 20.Circular Wave Umbrella by Ned Kahn. Exploratorium.
- 21.Casey, Cindy. Cloud Portal. Art and Architecture SF. January 16, 2013.
- 22.Cloud Rings. Exploratorium. 10 April 2018.
- 23.Cloud Rings by Ned Kahn: Maintenance Instructions. Exploratorium.
- 24.Sacramento Metropolitan Arts Commission. Cloud Vessel.
- 25.Project: Docks Promenade. Walker Macy.
- 26.Horvath, Alex. sculpting the elements / Sonoma artist's vision makes the invisible visible in patterns of water, shadow, light. san Francisco Chronicle. August 12, 2005.
- 27.Digitized Field. Creative Sonoma.
- 28.Ned Kahn Public Art Projects. City of Santa Rosa.
- 29.Emerald Glen Park. City of Dublin, California.
- 30.Casey, Laura. Roving art piece rolls into Dublin. East Bay Times. April 20, 2008.
- 31.Arias, Rob. Two Emeryville Marina public art finalists selected to evoke memory of historic mudflat sculptures. The E'ville Eye. August 23, 2018.
- 32.Rinaldi, Ray Mark. Denver hopes to buy $2 million sculpture by Ned Kahn. The Denver Post. May 15, 2013.
- 33.Rinaldi, Ray Mark. DIA's $6 million worth of big, new art. The Denver Post. November 25, 2015.
- 34.Firefly. Americans for the Arts. 15 May 2019.
- 35.Casey, Cindy. Firefly on the new SFPUC Building. Art and Architecture SF. September 17, 2012.
- 36.Casey, Cindy. Hidden Sea near Moscone Center. Art and Architecture SF. September 22, 2012.
- 37.Ned Kahn: Prairie Tree Alights on Nicollet Mall. Nicollet Mall Art. August 2017.
- 38.Rain Oculus. Americans for the Arts.
- 39.Casey, Cindy. Rain Portal. Art and Architecture SF. April 7, 2014.
- 40.Kelly Jr., Harlan L. Letter to Tom DeCaigny, Director of Cultural Affairs, San Francisco Arts Commission. Office of the General Manager, San Francisco Public Utilities Commission. September 24, 2018.
- 41.Rainbow Arbor. Americans for the Arts. 15 May 2019.
- 42.Rift Zone by Ned Kahn. Exploratorium.
- 43.Artists: Ned Kahn. Exploratorium. 22 March 2013.
- 44.Tornado. Exploratorium. 29 November 2017.
- 45.Tornado by Ned Kahn: Assembly and Maintenance. Exploratorium.
- 46.Turbulent Orb. Exploratorium. 6 December 2017.
- 47.City of Ventura. Public Art ID PA93-01.
- 48.City of Ventura. Disasters at the Pier.
- 49.Historic Ventura Pier Takes Another Battering: Storm: Waves destroy 420 feet of landmark. Damage is estimated at $1.5 million. High seas and debris close beach. Los Angeles Times. December 14, 1995.
- 50.Lederer, Carrie. Approval of a proposal for public artwork for the Neiman Marcus Project. Arts Commission, City of Walnut Creek. July 20, 2009.
- 51.Robinson, Gaile. Panther Island public artwork to be dedicated Thursday. Fort Worth Star-Telegram. December 9, 2015.
- 52.Wind Silos. Americans for the Arts. 15 May 2019.
- 53.Schumacher, Michael. MOVE: Architecture in Motion - Dynamic Components and Elements. Birkhäuser Verlag AG. 170–171. 2010. 978-3-7643-9986-3.
- 54.Wind Veil. Americans for the Arts. 15 May 2019.
References
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Ned Kahn is recorded as having received MacArthur Fellows Program.
The Encyclopedia exists whether or not anything is for sale. Corrections are recorded rather than overwritten, and every version of this record is kept. Published 17 August 2026.
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