Jenny Kahn was born and raised in New Orleans. She studied painting at the Gerritt Reitveld Academie in Amsterdam and The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts in Philadelphia. She has exhibited in New York, Philadelphia, New Orleans and elsewhere. Kahn was living in New Orleans when Hurricane Katrina swept through the city. She lost her home, her studio and much of her work. She evacuated to San Antonio with her husband and their two cats, eventually relocating to the San Francisco Bay area in the fall of 2006. She is currently represented by the Cole Pratt Gallery in New Orleans.

“I had been forewarned that the woods had been damaged. My first assessment was that with all of the fallen trees, it looked like the rest of New Orleans; ruined. On a walk through with the botanist, Dave Baker, I learned that this particular kind of forest has evolved to survive hurricanes and flooding. Far from being ruined, creation was happening everywhere and at breakneck speed. Suddenly exposed to the sun, new trees were shooting up so fast you could practically watch them grow. All of the surviving trees lost their foliage. Now fully exposed to the light they were sprouting leaves from head to toe! I was very moved to think that this kind of growth and regeneration was possible in my own life. In fact, there is a chance for all of us to weather this storm and evolve into something stronger and better. This felt very empowering and inspirational.” – Jenny Kahn