Larry Kolden is a Chicago-based artist known for his large-scale narrative drawings—sometimes melancholy, sometimes satirical—characterized by their deep range of saturated velvety blacks and whites. Born in 1939 in Osseo, Wisconsin, and raised in Elkhorn, Kolden’s artistic foundation began at age 16 with a five-year apprenticeship in photography at Fossum Studios, an experience that profoundly shaped his approach to composition, light, and image-making.
After earning his M.F.A. in Drawing, Painting, and Printmaking from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1967, Kolden built a distinguished teaching career spanning nearly 50 years at institutions including Southern Illinois University, the Arkansas Art Center—where he served as Director of the Printmaking Program—and Drury University, where he helped develop the Master of Studio Art program. His 14-year commitment to the restoration of the Edgar Miller Carl Street Studios in Chicago’s Old Town neighborhood (1990–2004) stands as a major contribution to the preservation of Chicago’s architectural art legacy.
Kolden’s ongoing Hot Dog Stand painting series, begun in 1985 and continuing to the present day, represents nearly 40 years of documenting Chicago’s disappearing architectural vernacular—one of the longest sustained documentary art series by any contemporary American artist. His work has been exhibited throughout the Midwest, including a major retrospective at the Chicago Cultural Center (2015–2016). His images, whether drawn from his late wife Deborah’s “story dreams” or his own urban encounters, capture what he calls “quotable psychic benchmarks”—fleeting moments tempered by old movies, sweet jazz, blues, and corner grocery stores.