Kuhn was born and raised in Chicago, the son of a political science professor. He received his BFA from Washburn University in Topeka, Kansas, in 1972 with a focus on ceramics, and his MFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Virginia, in 1978, where he was introduced to the medium of glass. During the late 1970s and the early 1980s, Kuhn worked in hot glass and sometimes encased his blown, irregularly shaped globes in pebbly and crusty exteriors resembling those of ceramics. After moving to Winston-Salem in 1985, Kuhn began to focus on the lamination method that has subsequently distinguished his work. His works are featured in over 30 international museums, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, The Carnegie Museum, the White House Permanent Collection, the National Museum of American Art, as well as in countless private collections.