about Kate
Kate Bae is a multi-disciplinary immigrant artist based in Brooklyn and Busan. Her practice encompasses painting, alongside the creation of site-specific installations and sculptural works. Bae holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA in Painting from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. She is the founder of Women's Cactus for the Arts and has exhibited nationally and internationally, including recent shows at the Jeju Museum of Art and the Brooklyn Museum.
Bae is a recipient of grants from the Puffin Foundation, the Real Art Award, the MVP Chapter Lead Grant from the Malikah Gender Justice Institute, and the Ora Lerman Trust. She has attended residencies at the Golden Foundation, the Studios at Mass MoCA, the Trestle Gallery, the Wassaic Project, Chashama, and the Lower East Side Printshop, among others.
Statement
My artistic practice is rooted in a deeply personal exploration of identity, memory, and the environment. As an immigrant artist, I grapple with the fragmented nature of belonging and the complexities of cultural heritage. This internal struggle finds expression in my painting process, where I pour and cast paint onto unconventional surfaces, then peel and reassemble the resulting layers, mirroring my immigrant experience.
Inspired by my childhood struggle with excoriation disorder, I find catharsis in this repetitive process, transforming anxiety into a unique form of creation. Recent experiences, such as witnessing the impact of climate change while diving with the Sea Women in Jeju, have profoundly influenced my work. I experiment with the behavior of acrylic paint in water, exploring its resilience and fragility, reflecting the delicate balance of the natural world.
Through my art, I seek to connect with my own history, inspire others to appreciate the beauty and fragility of our planet, and foster a deeper understanding of the interconnectedness of human experience and the environment.
C.V.
EDUCATION
School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) / Chicago, IL / Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting, 2003
Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) / Providence, RI / Master of Fine Arts, Painting, 2010
Brown University Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning / Providence, RI
Hansoopool Haenyeo School / Jeju Island, South Korea / Certificate, Fundamental Course 15th Cohort, 2022
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
2025
Ode to Green, Grand Central Madison LIRR, MTA Arts & Design, New York, NY
Biyang, Collaboration with Hyo Jung Bea, Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju, South Korea
2024
Seaweed Diary, Busan Art Foundation, Busan, South Korea
Re·a·dapt, Seoul Design Festival, COEX, Seoul, South Korea
The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2023
Project on Crisis, Collaboration with Eco Action Forest, New York, NY
Homo Migratio, Collaboration with Hyo Jung Bea, Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju, South Korea
Wooriga Badara, Performance, The Paran and Jeju Foundation for the Arts & Culture, Jeju, South Korea
Project on Crisis, Collaboration with Eco Action Forest, Daetigohae Green Village, Busan, South Korea
Gathering, Curated by Asianish, FiveMyles Gallery, New York, NY
Practicing Uncertainty, Curated by Sophia Chizuco, Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx Council on the Arts, Bronx, NY
Um dyggð hins dúnkennda tilgangsleysis, two persons show with Magnús Helgason, Gallery Mjólkurbúðin, Akureyri, Iceland
Do or Don’t Do It Yourself: A Paint by Number, Curated by Kirstin Lamb, Dorrance H. Hamilton Gallery, Salve Regina University, Newport, RI
A Rite of Passage, Solo Presentation, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
2022
I’m Fine, Thank you. And You? Jeju Foundation for the Arts & Culture, Artspace IAa, Jeju Island, South Korea
A Tournament of Lies, Collaboration with Anne Mungtes, Wassaic Project, Wassaic, NY
We the People, Puffin Foundation, Teaneck, NJ
Adorned: Inspired by Fabric and Fashion, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Art Center, Solomon, MD
State of Nature, Curated by Erika Diamond, Chautauqua Visual Arts (CVA), Chautauqua, NY
2021
Remergence: the 18th Annual Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, Haverford, PA
Hatak, North Willow, Montclair, NJ
The Birth of a New Eden, SPRING/BREAK Art Show, Curated by Andrea Zlotowitz, New York, NY
I’m/Migrant, James Howe Gallery, Kean University, Union, NJ
CVA School of Art Participants Exhibition, Fowler-Kellogg Art Center, Chautauqua, NY
Willie’s Dream, Solo Presentation, Collaboration with Musician Chihiro Shibayama, The Fullerton Mansion via Newburgh Community Land Bank, Newburgh, NY
2020
How to Care for the Succulent, Head Curator as Women’s Cactus for the Arts, SPRING/BREAK art show, New York, NY
2019
Possible, Between and Together, Solo Presentation, Curated by Eileen Jeng Lynch, Sunroom Project Space, Wave Hill, NY
HONORS, AWARDS AND RESIDENCIES
2025
Sculpture Space Residency, Utica, NY
2024
Speaker, Art and Climate Crisis, UN COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan
Busan Cultural Foundation of Arts Grant, Busan, South Korea
Puffin Foundation Grant, Teaneck, NJ
2023
Makerspace Community Giving Back Membership Award, Brooklyn, NY
Mentor, Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, NYFA, NY
2022
Michael Tomassini Artist Accessibility Fund, Solomon, MD
Mentor, Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, NYFA, NY
2021
Betsy Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art, Haverford, PA
The Cabins / Martha MOCA residency, Lambertville, NJ
Chautauqua School of Art Residency, Chautauqua, NY
Real Art Award, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
MVP Chapter Lead Grant, Malikah Gender Justice Institute, New York, NY
ESKFF Residency at Mana Contemporary, Jersey City, NJ
2020
Keyholder Fellowship 2020/2021, Lower East Side Printshop, New York, NY
Artist-in-Vacancy Residency 2020/2021, Newburgh Community Land Bank, Newburgh, NY
Serlachius museot Residenssi, Mänttä, Finland
2019
DNA Residency via Freight+Volume Gallery, Provincetown, MA
The Ora Lerman Charity Trust Grant, New York, NY
Soaring Gardens Artist Retreat, Laceyville, PA
ChaShaMa Artist in Residence, New York, NY
Gilfélagið Artist Residency, Akureyri, Iceland
2018
Artist in Residence, Marpha Foundation, Nepal
Creative Capital Professional Development Program, New Jersey
2017
New York Foundation for the Art (NYFA) Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, New York
Trestle Artist Residency, Brooklyn, NY
The Sam and Adele Golden Foundation for the Arts Residency, New Berlin, NY
Tentacles + Surface Arts Residency, Bangkok, Thailand
The Studios at MASS MoCA Residency, North Adams, MA
Artist in Residence, SÍM Seljavegur, Reykjavík, Iceland
2016
Villa R Residency Award, Messina, Italy
Wassaic Artist Residency, Wassaic, NY
2011
Post Contemporary Residency, Troy, NY
2005
Contemporary Artist Center, North Adams, MA