Lynne Kortenhaus was raised on a 26-acre New Jersey farm among makers—her grandfather cultivated the land and her grandmother and mother brought the fruits of his labor to the table daily. Early on, Lynne was influenced by this homesteading heritage. She used her grandmother’s Singer sewing machine to craft her own dresses from Vogue patterns, and learned the art of crochet.
She took this joy of making to the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in 1973 and an MFA in 1975. Lynne spent her final year studying drawing and printmaking in Florence, Italy. The technical, process-driven demands of printmaking satisfy her obsessive nature; she has been dedicated to refining her craft ever since.
Lynne has always lived close to the sea—she has residences in Charlestown and Provincetown, MA, and Clearwater, FL—and her art is deeply influenced by the changing moods of the shoreline in every season. Wherever she travels, she photographs natural moments and uses these images to inspire her work. She is particularly drawn to the reflection of light on land and ocean, and the Atlantic coast’s ever-changing tides and dunes.
Lynne is also a passionate supporter of the fine arts community. She is a member of the Provincetown Art Association and Museum; a Director’s Circle member of the Institute of Contemporary Art; and a trustee of the Fine Arts Work Center in Provincetown. She is currently the chair of the Public Art Commission for the City of Boston. She is a contributing artist to the annual FAWC Monoprint Project, originally established by Michael Mazur and currently directed and curated by artist Bert Yarborough.
Every summer, Lynne enjoys working in the FAWC printmaking studio with other master printers including Andrew Mockler, James Stroud, and Anthony Kirk, among others.
Her work often combines various printmaking techniques: monotype, collagraph, etching, drypoint, chine collé with collage, pastel and hand drawing.
Lynne can be reached at lkortenhaus(at)kortenhaus.com.