Kenneth V. Young: 1968–1972

This exhibition catalogue presents a revelatory examination of Kenneth Victor Young’s pivotal abstract works from 1968–1974, foregrounding nine masterful canvases that epitomize the artist’s distinctive synthesis of scientific methodology and chromatic experimentation. Young’s singular approach—developed during his transition from chemical engineering to fine art at the University of Louisville, where he encountered the influential cohort of Gallery Enterprise—manifests in his signature “orbs,” ethereal forms that emerge through an innovative technical process of combining acrylic paint, primer, and water-staining on unprimed canvas. The resulting works, particularly exemplified in the monumental triptych Miles Davis (1972), demonstrate Young’s sophisticated engagement with both Renaissance devotional painting and jazz improvisation, while pieces such as Spring Joy (1970) reveal his masterful orchestration of opacity, scale, and repetition to create immersive abstract landscapes that position him as a significant, though historically underrecognized, contributor to the Color Field movement.

Published by Edward Tyler Nahem, 2020

Essay by Sarah Battle

Designed by Tim Laun and Natalie Wedeking

Edited by SNAP Editions

Fully illustrated, 52 Pages

_{© Estate of Kenneth Young}