Statement
I work within shifting spaces of identity, memory, and the natural world. Through poured and peeled “skins” of paint, as well as expanded practices that engage water, time, and embodied attention, I explore how personal history and ecological fragility take form. My work reflects the delicate balance between resilience and vulnerability in human and environmental life, often inviting slowness and presence as a way of staying with what is unfolding.
about Kate
Kate Bae is a multi-disciplinary immigrant artist based in NYC and South Korea. 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, Korea and the Brooklyn Museum, NY.
Bae is a recipient of grants from the Puffin Foundation, Foundation for the Contemporary Art, 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 Sculpture Space, Golden Foundation, the Studios at Mass MoCA, the Trestle Gallery, the Wassaic Project, Chashama, and the Lower East Side Printshop, among others.
Kate Bae C.V.
EDUCATION
2010 Rhode Island School of Design (RISD), Providence, RI Master of Fine Arts, Painting
Brown University Sheridan Center for Teaching and Learning, Providence, RI
2003 School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC), Chicago, IL Bachelor of Fine Arts, Painting
2022 Hansoopool Haenyeo School, Jeju Island, South Korea Certificate, Fundamental Course (15th Cohort)
COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT AND COLLABORATION
Founder, Women’s Cactus for the Arts (global artist collective)
Collaborations with Eco Action Forest (marine ecology, climate action)
Mentor, NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program
Participatory workshops and performances in the U.S., South Korea, and Southeast Asia
HONORS, AWARDS, AND RESIDENCIES (SELECTED)
2026
La Napoule Foundation Residency, Mandelieu-de-Napoule, France
Research Studio Residency, Art & History Museums of Maitland, Maitland, FL
2025
Casa Na Ilha Artist Residency, Ilhabela, Brazil
Foundation for Contemporary Arts (FCA) Emergency Grant
Kimmel Harding Nelson Center Artist Residency, NE
Sculpture Space Residency, Utica, NY
2024
Speaker, Ode to Green: Seaweed Diary, Korea Pavilion, UN COP29, Baku, Azerbaijan
Busan Cultural Foundation of Arts Grant, South Korea
Puffin Foundation Grant, Teaneck, NJ
2023–2021
Mentor, Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program, NYFA
Betsy Meyer Family Award for Contemporary Art
Real Art Award, Real Art Ways, Hartford, CT
Chautauqua School of Art Residency, NY
ESKFF Residency, Mana Contemporary, NJ
2019–2017
Gilfélagið Artist Residency, Akureyri, Iceland
Marpha Foundation Residency, Nepal
Golden Artist Residency, Sam and Adele Golden Foundation, NY
Studios at MASS MoCA Residency, MA
EXHIBITIONS AND PRESENTATIONS (SELECTED)
2026
Making Time: Crafted Realities, Predicting Futures, Silver Arts Studio at World Trade Center 4, New York, NY
2025
Breathe with Me, Grand Central Digital Program, MTA Arts & Design, New York, NY
Biyang (with Hyo Jung Bea), Jeju Museum of Contemporary Art, Jeju, South Korea
Submerged: Sea Life and Aquatic Art, Annmarie Sculpture Garden & Arts Center, MD
2024
Seaweed Diary, Busan Art Foundation, Busan, South Korea
The Brooklyn Artists Exhibition, Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY
2023
Homo Migratio (with Hyo Jung Bea), Jeju Museum of Art, South Korea
Project on Crisis (with Eco Action Forest), New York, NY and Busan, South Korea
Practicing Uncertainty, Longwood Art Gallery, Bronx Council on the Arts, NY
2022–2018
Possible, Between and Together, Wave Hill, Bronx, NY
SPRING/BREAK Art Show, New York, NY
Remergence, Betsy Meyer Memorial Exhibition, Main Line Art Center, PA
SELECTED LECTURES, PANELS, AND MEDIA
2025
Speaker, Department of Marine Biology, Silliman University, Philippines
ApexArt Panelist, New York, NY
BRIO Panelist, Bronx Council on the Arts, NY
2024
Speaker, Ode to Green: Art and Climate Crisis, UN COP29, Azerbaijan
2022–2019
Guest Speaker, Maryland Institute College of Art
Interview, CGTN America (Full Frame: Racism Against Asians in the U.S.)
Artist Talks at Wave Hill and Akureyri Art Museum