One of my dreams was to art direct Grove Press‘ magazine, Evergreen Review, which I did for a rather short time. What I learned from the experience was I also wanted to design book covers like Grove’s genius-in-residence, Roy Kuhlman. That I never did. But I had the chance to meet him when I arranged to have him interviewed by Rick Poynor at one of the SVA Modernism & Eclecticism design history conferences. I don’t know how many in the audience appreciated Kuhlman’s brand of abstract expressionism and modernist typography, but I knew there was a timelessness about his myriad designs.
As the bio on roykuhlman.com states, “Kuhlman’s designs for Grove influenced generations of designers and transformed paperback book cover design. Steven Heller states that Kuhlman’s work ‘achieved a vibrancy that was not common at that period.’
“Originally trained as a fine artist, Kuhlman was primarily motivated by the experience of creating art and the appreciation of beauty and form. This generally superseded any dictates made by the client. As a result, he developed a reputation for being uncompromising and even difficult to work with. However, his work relationship with [Grove owner Barney] Rosset lasted two decades, no doubt largely due to Rosset’s respect for freedom of expression and his tolerance of eccentricity.”
Now, Kuhlman’s daughter Arden Riordan has opened the first part of a large collection of his remarkable work online. It is not yet complete and does not include all the useful analysis, but it is a gift for those, like me, who have long wanted to see everything, or as much as can be seen, of his Grove Press and other work.
Riordan is anxious to get feedback and provides various sites that offer Kuhlman’s oeuvre: roykuhlman.com; facebook.com/RoyKuhlman.GraphicDesigner; pinterest.com/ardenriordan
HOW’s In-House Design Awards recognize the best creative work produced by designers doing in-house work for corporations, associations and organizations. From corporate identity, sales collateral, point-of-purchase displays, employee communication, membership materials and more, this premiere awards program shines a spotlight on an under-represented segment of the design industry.
