In 1971, Jeff began working on Jewelers Row in Philadelphia. By 1973, he had set up his own studio and began designing, producing and selling his own line of custom jewelry.
From 1976 until 1980 he attended Pennslylvania Academy of Fine Art, where he continued working with furniture design, jewelry and experimental sculpture.
Kahn’s interest in sculpture led to his experimentation with different mediums including wood, metal, glass and electronics. Over the next few years he worked in machine shops, jewelry shops and furniture manufacturers learning the tools and processes needed to make things.
In 1984, he began making computer operated sculptures that would activate up to 5,000 light emitting diodes thus imparting movement to the sculptures. These pieces led to the development of more types of kinetic sculptures and were progress towards his ultimate goal of creating large kinetic outdoor pieces of sculpture that moved naturally, free from wires, lights and technology.
His current kinetic sculpture collection, titled “Unseen Forces,” explores balance and gravity and the way almost imperceptible air currents interact with them. “Gravity, something thought to make things fall, is the motivating force and the element that holds these kinetic sculptures together,” Kahn says.
The collection, which includes up to 35-foot high outdoor pieces composed of stainless steel, aluminum and titanium, combine Kahn’s nearly 50 years of experience as a maker, jeweler, machinist and wood worker.
“The best part is assembling the finished sculpture and watching how it takes on a life of its own, often moving in ways I hadn’t anticipated,” Kahn says.
His pieces are exhibited in private collections, corporate settings and museums.
