The Boca Raton Museum of Art is showing “Tobi Kahn: Quest for the Essence,” a retrospective of more than 80 works that span the New York artist’s career of nearly five decades. The exhibition runs from Nov. 7, 2026, through April 4, 2027.
Museum director and CEO Dr. Ena Heller organized and curated the show, which includes paintings, sculptures, works on paper and ritual objects. Kahn, born in 1952, often turns photographs of landscapes into abstract compositions. Two large installations from his Sky and Water series anchor the galleries.
Healing is a recurring theme in his work. Kahn has designed meditative spaces in hospitals, made custom chairs for families and health care workers, and created sculptural lighting for mothers who have had miscarriages. Other projects include memorials for the victims of September 11 and the Holocaust, pieces for pediatric cancer patients and tactile art for people with visual impairments.
Jewish traditions shape Kahn’s life and art, but he said his work is not limited to one faith. At a Nov. 5 VIP preview, he called the Sky and Water series his most religious work. The pieces come from his personal collection, many of them kept in his Long Island City studio.
A companion show, “Spiritual Ecologies: Art, Nature, and Community,” explores similar themes of nature, gratitude and community.
