Fred Kahl

Studio #30

Magic has been a central theme of my work over the course of my career. What “magic” means to me has been ever evolving and driven by inquiry. It began as a fascination with sleight of hand tricks and grew to visual and stage illusions, and later to yogic practices that led to sideshow feats of sword swallowing. I also dabbled with molten glass and the alchemy of transmutation that occurs with this magical glowing material. Arthur C. Clarke famously wrote “Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic”, and I spent a chapter of my life exploring the promise of technology; first as an author and later creative director of interactive games, and then by inventing a 3D scanning device for making full body 3D portraits to be 3D printed, producing portrait sculptures out of thin air. For the last decade my inquiry has come back to yogic philosophy, meditation, and my artwork has centered around explorations of the metaphysical and consciousness, as expressed with sacred geometries cast in glass interacting with light. I also make complex drawings from photographs of trees and algorithmic art with software that I write, which are executed with the aid of a pen plotter, a drawing robot that I built.

Frederick Kahl—widely known as The Great Fredini—is an artist, performer, and creative technologist whose work merges magic, spectacle, and inquiry. From sword swallowing on the stages of Coney Island to creating Emmy-winning interactive media and sculpting luminous cast-glass artworks, his career is a lifelong pursuit of curiosity, wonder, and transformation. Through handmade illusions, 3D-printed portraits, or glowing glass installations, Kahl invites audiences to question what is real and to see the world with renewed perception. His practice often weaves together ancient ideas—such as sacred geometry and yogic philosophy—with cutting-edge tools including CNC fabrication, 3D scanning, and custom software. His recent work centers on large-scale centrifugally cast glass forms illuminated from within, turning glass and light into meditative, contemplative experiences. Now based in Saugerties, NY, Kahl is building a new studio to realize even more ambitious visions—and to continue pursuing what he calls “real magic”: the sense of awe, connection, and possibility that shimmers just beyond the visible. Fred is a former TED Resident and artist in residence at the Corning Museum of Glass, Tacoma Museum of Glass, and Penland School of Craft. He is a graduate of New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program and former Executive Creative Director at New York interactive design studio, Funny Garbage. He currently teaches at the School of Visual Arts MFA Design Program, and has taught at Corning Museum of Glass, Pilchuck Glass School and New York University’s Interactive Telecommunications Program.

thegreatfredini.com

instagram.com/fredini