statement & biography

ARTISTS STATEMENT

My practice is inspired by the patterns of nature and the way objects can record and extend our lives. My work, based on familiar forms like trees and vessels, argues for the pleasure found in beauty, and the power of material and form. Using a process that is accumulative and direct, joining small parts together into a larger body, I work to create a sense of movement within still objects. Within this structured movement there resides the potential for change. These works serve as a reminder of our own place in the natural world; no matter how carefully we construct and manage our daily experiences, life will not leave us alone or untouched by change.

SHORT BIOGRAPHY

Trained as a metalsmith, Kim was an undergraduate at the University of Michigan, earned an MFA in Metals from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and studied at Skowhegan School of Sculpture and Painting. Kim has taught in art programs across the country including the University of Wisconsin-Madison, the University of Michigan, San Diego State University, Arizona State University, Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts and the Penland School of Crafts. Her work can be found in the public collections including the Arkansas Art Center Decorative Museum of Art, the Chazen Art Museum, the collection of the Grand Valley State University, the Phoenix Office of Arts and Culture, the collection of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, NYC, the Museum of Fine Arts Houston, the Racine Art Museum, the Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, the Scottsdale Contemporary Museum of Art, and the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.

Kim's studio practice focuses on the fabrication of sculptural forms in metal with materials evocative of the natural world. She has also applied her use of steel, structure, and ornament in large-scale public art projects and commissions for public spaces. Public works include a sculptural installation for the MTA Arts-For-Transit program at the Mamaroneck, NY Metro North Station and works in the Londoner Hotel Macao, China. Her work was featured in a Master Metalsmith retrospective exhibition through 2022 at the Metal Museum in Memphis, TN. You can find her on Instagram @kimcridler.