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Kim Abeles

Kim Abeles posing with Graham Goddard and other artist in a exhibition “An Idea Called Tomorrow” at the California African American Museum

Kim Abeles (born August 28, 1952, age 70) is a visual artist. She is known for using her work to explore biography, geography, feminism, and the environment. In the art community, Abeles is known as an activist because her work has expressed political and social aspects.

Instagram: @kimsbeles

Website: https://kimabeles.com/

Life and Education

Kim Abeles was born in Richmond Heights, Missouri, and grew up in Pittsburg, Pennsylvania. At an early age, Abeles realized that she deeply loved art. While in 5th grade, Abeles would teach art classes to the neighborhood children. After high school, she attended Ohio University and earned her Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting. Then she was accepted into Cal Arts for graduate school but could not attend due to tuition costs. Fortunately, she received an offer from the University of California, Irvine, and decided to attend. At UCI, she graduated with a Master’s in Fine Arts degree in studio art in 1980.

Work

Kim Abeles is a visual artist who uses her art to send important messages to the world and, in a way, motivate people to take action and change the world. Kim Abeles stated, "Art that provides a viewer with meaningful portrayals of nature and society is in service to re-engage a person with the physical world; this is where positive change is possible." Abeles takes important issues like feminism, mental illness, and environmental issues, amongst other issues, and uses art to convey a message through her artwork. She believes motivating people and showing them where change must occur will allow society to participate and work for improvement.

Pearls of Wisdom

Abeles collaborated with A Window Between Worlds, a non-profit that uses art to end domestic violence. To create this art piece, Abeles gathered 800 participants from shelters and workshops that experience domestic violence. Each participant created a pearl and wrote about their experience with domestic violence. Pearls are a metaphor for domestic violence because pearls are formed as a way to protect the oyster from harmful irritants. Much like these oyster victims of domestic violence, through their experience, they are made stronger and empowered by the hardships, transforming them into something beautiful like a pearl.

Smog Collectors

This collection is an artwork that allows the public to see the real issue with smog development. Abeles collects smog from the air and turns it into images, allowing us to see how big of an issue smog can become for the human body. She began this collection in 1987 when she first noticed how much smog filled the air where she lived in the San Gabriel Mountains. Smog is an issue that not many people realize can cause damage to the lungs over time. According to the CDC, "Ground-level ozone (a key component of smog) is associated with many health problems, such as diminished lung function, increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for asthma, and increases in premature deaths." Kim Abeles uses her artwork to show that smog is not as "invisible" as people believe these pieces are meant to be a shock factor in encouraging people to make a change because otherwise they will be affected.

Paper Person

Paper Person is a sculpture Kim Abeles created and is a permanent collection at the California Science Center. Abeles created an enormous artwork suspended from the ceiling and shaped like a person. The sculpture was made out of the trash collected from the California Science Center and left behind by people who visited on Earth Day 2009.

Signs of Life Diptych

Kim Abeles made an artwork depicting Downtown Los Angeles to show the environmental impact of climate change. One image depicts Downtown LA with beautiful and lively trees, and the next depicts the same location, but the trees are dead. Abeles is sending the message that if we do not make changes and try to protect the environment, we will ultimately be the downfall of the world and ourselves.

Notable Moments

1996: Published an Environmental Activity Book - an activity book that discusses issues like water, air pollution, and recycling. The Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Department funded this book

1999: Created the piece "Reason, Imagination and Memory and Literary Lanterns," funded by the City of Los Angeles Department of Cultural Affairs

Panorama City Public Library.

2001: Created "From Your Seat, Sidewalk Medallions, and Hill Street Time Keeper," located in Grand Central Market Court

2002: Created "Illuminated Fig Leaves," located at Marriott Hotel and Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA2009: Published Mapping Space, Time, and Narrative - compiling all of her work on mapping.

2013: Created "Woven Hands," located at Kedren Community Health Center.

2015: Gallery-of-Solutions: an exhibition under the Luckman Project in Cal State LA. This exhibition is about human behavior and its impact on the environment. Students, professors, and guest artists come together to set up the exhibition. Kim Abeles is one of the guest artists.

2017: Published Talking Air - an activity book that was designed to teach children about air pollution

2018: CAA MFA Exhibition - Kim Abeles was one of the curators for this event that picked students to participate in an exhibition and win a scholarship.

2023: Smog Collectors Exhibition in Sacramento State University displaying Abeles's work from 1987-2020.

References

1. Kim Abeles. John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation... (n.d.). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.gf.org/fellows/kim-abeles/
2. Meet Kim Abeles of Kim Abeles studio - voyage la. (2018, June 26). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from http://voyagela.com/interview/meet-kim-abeles-kim-abeles-studio-los-angeles/
3. Kim Abeles: From studio to street. Nevada Museum of Art. (2018, October 18). Retrieved May 4, 2023, from https://www.nevadaart.org/art/exhibitions/kim-abeles-from-studio-to-street/
4. Links & books. Kim Abeles. (2023, March 25). https://kimabeles.com/links-books/
5. Clarke, B. (2023). Kim Abeles: Smog collectors. Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors | Sacramento State. https://www.csus.edu/university-galleries/library-galleries/exhibitions/kim-abeles/
6. Abeles, K. (2020, March 31). Pearls of wisdom: End the violence. Kim Abeles. https://kimabeles.com/portfolio/pearls-of-wisdom-end-the-violence/
7. Abeles, Ki. (2023, January 14). More art & projects. Kim Abeles. https://kimabeles.com/portfolio/
8. Abeles, K. (2022, March 9). Smog collectors. Kim Abeles. https://kimabeles.com/smog-collectors/
9. Abeles, K. (n.d.). Paper person by Kim Abeles at California Science Center, Los Angeles: Wescover Art. Paper Person by Kim Abeles at California Science Center, Los Angeles | Wescover Art. https://www.wescover.com/p/art-and-wall-decor-by-kim-abeles-at-california-science-center--PrJB4ktfEUX