Environmental artist Ned Kahn is best known for making the “invisible visible” by taking forces of nature like fog, wind, and water and giving them a physical form.

Canopy of Sky

One of his most recent exhibitions, titled Canopy of Sky, suspended 7,000 translucent polycarbonate discs 15 feet in the air on three curved aluminum poles. The resulting piece shimmers above the lawn, catching the wind of the bay and blurring into a shifting canopy on foggy days.

Located off the coast of San Francisco, the installation spans approximately 29 feet and is suspended on three curved aluminum poles. The discs move with the wind, creating a flickering surface meant to emulate foliage and water. From a distance, the piece appears to hover in the air.

“I strive to create artworks that enable viewers to observe and interact with natural processes,” said Kahn. “I am less interested in creating an alternative reality than I am in capturing, through my art, the mysteriousness of the world around us.”

Rather than merely objects to be observed, Kahn views his sculptures as “detectors” or “instruments” that need to interact with nature. Kahn’s portfolio can be divided into pieces that interact with different elements: wind facades, fog and vapor, and water and sand.

Other Notable Works

His piece titled Articulated Cloud, located at the Children’s Museum in Pittsburgh, PA, uses thousands of translucent plastic flaps that move in the wind to make it look like it’s being covered in a passing cloud. Another piece titled Wind Veil in Charlotte covered a six-story parking garage in 80,000 aluminum panels, giving the appearance of grass moving in the wind or waves in the ocean.

A piece titled Tornado, located at The Exploratorium, stands 12 feet tall with air blowers and fog generators that create a stable, swirling vortex. Finally, his Bus Jet Fountain piece in San Francisco is a “water bus” fountain with water jets that rise in height with the movement of buses in the tunnel below.

Kahn’s art is heavily influenced by his background in environmental science and botany. He previously apprenticed at San Francisco’s Exploratorium and has designed exhibits for the American Museum of Natural History, Natural History Museum in London, and the Pasadena Museum of California Art. He’s also received the MacArthur Fellowship, otherwise known as the “genius grant.”