Loren Munk

East Village Matrix (study), oil on linen, 16"x 20", 2012


The artist Loren Munk (born 1951) is a painter and a vlogger. In the early 1980's, Munk began exhibiting Cubist and Neo-Expressionist influenced figurative oil paintings that often featured elaborate mosaic frames.[1][2] In the early 2000s, a new body of paintings emerged that addressed the subject of art itself through a historical and diagrammatic lens.[3] Since 2005, he has also documented the New York art world through his Kalm Report and Rough Cuts YouTube channels under the pseudonym James Kalm.[4]

Early Life and Education

Munk grew up in Salt Lake City, Utah and Pocatello, Idaho. After serving in the US Army in Landstuhl, Germany, he moved to New York City where he attended the Art Students League and where he has since resided. [5]

Cheap Sunglasses, oil/linen, glass/wood 58"x48", 1999

Art Career

Munk's work debuted in SoHo in 1981 with a double show at J. Fields Gallery and Gabrielle Bryers. Since then, he has overseen an international career. In addition to exhibiting in Brazil, France, Germany and the United States, Munk has received national and overseas, public and private commissions. He is well represented in important collections throughout Europe, South and North America and the Middle East.

Most recently, Munk has been producing a series of paintings which tackle the subject of art itself through a historical and diagrammatic lens. Also, he has expanded upon his role in the artistic community, publishing numerous reviews and essays, curating and promoting several shows, and offering his acknowledged expertise on the Williamsburg arts scene.

Vlogging

Munk documents the New York art world in YouTube videos, using the name James Kalm. The Kalm Report is shot from a first person perspective using a hand held camera. Kalm arrives at an art show by bike — he calls himself "the guy on the bike" — and then walks through the show while providing commentary.[6]

References

  1. ^ Rubinstein, Raphael (10 February 2015). "Reconnoitring: Cartography of an Art Enthusiast" (PDF). SUNY Suffolk. Archived (PDF) from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  2. ^ Micchelli, Thomas (6 October 2017). "Loren Munk: Painting About Thinking About Painting". Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  3. ^ Smith, Roberta (29 September 2011). "Loren Munk: 'Location, Location, Location,Mapping the New York Art World'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 7 November 2022. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  4. ^ Thomas S. Mulligan, Via YouTube, it's the Kalm Report, Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2008.
  5. ^ Lipinski, Jed (24 December 2011). "Via YouTube, Leading Tours of the City's Art Scene". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 11 November 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2024.
  6. ^ Thomas S. Mulligan, Via YouTube, it's the Kalm Report, Los Angeles Times, April 23, 2008.