Ken Nahan (b. 1960)

I think of my recent works as storytelling without words. I invite the viewer to see them as if hearing them, with the imagined stories being relevant to one’s own interpretations, encouraging exploration and discovery. These drawings are inspired by my love of many genres of music, and by visual artist such as Paul Klee, Wassily Kandinsky, Alexander Calder, and others. Most are executed on nautical charts or topographical maps that have been sanded and then mounted onto board. The deliberate act of sanding not only reduces the prominence of the maps' features but also creates a weathered, textured surface suggestive of erosion and the passage of time. Rendered in ink, my drawings are spontaneous – improvisations that tend to be fluid and symbolic, yet without specific intent, combining elements of abstraction, geometry, and musicality. They often incorporate basic geometric forms—circles, spirals, squares, and rectangles. Certain repetitive elements evoke cadences while a balance of colors suggest musical tonalities. - Ken Nahan -