Miru Kim is a New York-based artist and explorer.  Her first series, “Naked City Spleen” is based on her exploration of urban ruins such as abandoned subway stations, tunnels, sewers, catacombs, factories, hospitals, and shipyards. Her next series, “The Pig That Therefore I am” juxtaposes her skin against the pig’s skin in industrial hog farms to explore the changing relationship between humans and animals.  Her latest series, “The Camel’s Way” has followed her journey to deserts around the world, including the Arabian Desert, the Sahara in Mali, Morocco, and Egypt, the Thar in India, and the Gobi Desert in Mongolia, where she lived with desert nomads, slept in caves, and photographed herself with camels.  

Miru's work has been highlighted by countless international publications and online media, and is now in public collections including National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea, Seoul Museum of Art, The Museum of Photography Seoul, Leeum Samsung Museum of Art, Borusan Contemporary Turkey, Addison Gallery of American Art, and The Francis J Greenburger Collection 

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MIRU KIM

Lives and works in New York

2006     M.F.A, Painting, Pratt Institute, New York, NY.

2003     B.A, French and Romance Philology, Columbia University, New York, NY.

Solo Exhibitions

2014    The Camel’s Way, Trunk Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

2013    The Camel’s Way, The Pier-2 Art Center, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

2012    The Pig That Therefore I Am, Trunk Gallery, Seoul, Korea.

2012    The Pig That Therefore I Am, DOOSAN Gallery New York, New York, NY.

2010     Naked City Spleen: Istanbul, SODA Gallery, Istanbul, Turkey.

2009     Miru Kim: Naked City Spleen, Gallery HYUNDAI Gangnam, Seoul, Korea (catalogue essay by Richard Vine, Art In America).

             Naked City Spleen and Blind Door, The Cell Theatre, New York, NY.

2008     Naked City Spleen, Gestarc Gallery, Brooklyn, NY.

Selected Group Exhibitions

2017      Landscape of Loss, Exhibition for the 23rd UN World Climate Change Conference, COP23, The Ministry of Environment, Berlin, Germany.

             We All Love Art, curated by Ryszard Wasko, Schlachthaus fresh & fine art, Berlin, Germany.

             A Sustaining Life, Waterfall Gallery and Mansion, 170 E 80th St, New York, NY.

2016    As the Moon Waxes and Wanes, MMCA Gwacheon 30 Year Anniversary Special Exhibition,

            the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea.

2015    60 Americans, curated by Terrence Sanders and Noah Becker, Elga Wimmer PCC, New York, NY.

            "Biel/Bienne Dreaming" performance, Body and Freedom Festival, Biel/Bienne, Switzerland.

2014    "Zagreb Dreaming" performance, Zagreb, I Love You! Festival, Zagreb, Croatia.

2012    The Body in Languages, New York-Berlin Exchange Exhibition, Korean Cultural Service NY, Korean Cultural Center Berlin.

            Les Mangeurs, Orange, the Contemporary Art Event of Sain-Hyacinthe, Quebec, Canada

            Modus Vivendi, Pierogi Gallery, Brooklyn, NY. 

            “How to Catch an Eel” performance, To the Stars on the Wings of an Eel, Gowanus Ballroom, Brooklyn, NY.

            Urban Wild, Snap! Orlando, a project of The Lucie Foundation, Orlando, FL. 

2011    "I Like Pigs and Pigs Like Me (104 hours)" performance, Here Lies Georges Wildenstein, Primary Projects, Miami, FL.

2011    Winter Salon, curated by Björn Ressle and Hee Yuen Chun, Elga Wimmer PCC, New York, NY.

2010    Sueño, Amor y Paz, National Museum of Visual Art, Montevideo, Uruguay.

            "Mud Bath for Thick Skin" and public street installation, Fokus Łódź Biennale 2010, Poland.

            The Moment, 63 Sky Art, 63 Building, Seoul, Korea.

            Artist’s Body, Coreana Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea. 

2009    Faces & Facts: Korean Contemporary Art in New York, Queens Museum of Art, Queens, NY. 

2008     Secret Spaces: Cecily Kahn, Rachel Burgess, Miru Kim, Jonathan Frost Gallery, Rockland, ME.

2005     Post Production Dialogue, Arttransponder e.V., Berlin, Germany.

             Objects of Comfort, Werketage Saarbrücker Strasse e.V., Berlin, Germany.

             Spontaneous Generation, Ars Subterranea, 3LD, New York, NY.

Lectures

2016    Talk Talk Talk, #6 Photography, Korean Association of New York Artists, New York, NY, May 7. 

2013    KASCON XXVI Conference, Brown University, Providence, RI, March 23.

            The Crowded Creative Conference, New York, NY 2013, March 9.

2012    Snap! Orlando, Orlando Museum of Art, Orlando, FL, May 12.

2010    Conflux Festival 2010, New York, NY, October 10th.

2009    The 2nd World Culture Forum, Dresden, Germany, October 10th.

2008    The Entertainment Gathering 2008, Monterey, CA, Dec 11th.

2006    Dorkbot, Location One, New York, NY, October 4th.

Public Collections

National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Korea

Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea

The Museum of Photography, Seoul, Korea

Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea

Addison Gallery of American Art, Andover, MA, USA

Borusan Contemporary, Istanbul, Turkey

The Francis J Greenburger Collection

Hana Bank, Seoul, Korea

Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Montevideo, Uruguay 

Fountainhead Residency, Miami, FL