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Born in Busan, Korea, Kate Bae is an independent curator and immigrant artist mainly working on site-specific installations and paintings based in New York City. Kate’s art practice is focused on multiple identities, memories, neuroses, psychological borders and collaboration with other artists. She holds an MFA from the Rhode Island School of Design and a BFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in painting. Bae is a founder of Women’s Cactus for the Arts and has exhibited nationally and internationally including solo shows at the Sunroom Project Space in Wave Hill, Bronx, NY, the Deiglan Gallery in Akureyri, Iceland, and most recently the Artspace IAa in Jeju, South Korea. She is a grant recipient from Real Art Award, MVP Chapter Lead Grant from Malikah Gender Justice Institute, Ora Lerman Trust, Creative Capital Professional Development Program and the NYFA Immigrant Artist Mentoring Program. She has attended many residencies including the Golden Foundation, the Studios at Mass MoCA, Trestle Gallery, Wassaic Project, Chashama and Lower East Side Printshop Keyholder Residency among others.
Published on March 19th, 2023. Artist responses collected in months previous.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I went to South Korea for three months back in June for an exhibition “I’m Fine Thank You and You.” Seven close friends collaborated with each other and presented solo works in response to the pandemic period, and it was intense and wonderful. Then I extended my stay for two more months because there were so much to absorb. I have not spent such a prolonged time in my native country Korea since I immigrated to the U.S. back in 1994.
I’ve been active physically, attending Haenyeo School in Jeju Island weekly (“Sea Woman” or Haenyeo; referring to the female divers in Jeju Island - dating all the way back to 434 AD, these women free dive without oxygen tank or nets, and harvest sea life by hand to sustain their livelihood. They represent a unique matriarch society in a male dominant Korean culture) and freediving five times a week. I've been also riding a bicycle everywhere and it has changed my way of life. My interests have shifted towards environment; it makes me think about how I feel the air, wind, water, trees, flowers, and people.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
It is okay to feel uncomfortable – the discomfort is basically the price of accelerated progress. Being scared just means you are about to grow. Also, getting super-fit would have increased my creativity and productivity considerably. Go out there and enjoy yourself more! Also, I wish I learned printmaking and photography more deeply. I took so many things for granted! Should’ve developed my own niche earlier and studied it longer. I have my regrets about ego too. So many should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. Learning to love yourself was probably the biggest thing I could have done when I was younger.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
Sitting still, contemplating in silence, and enjoying solitude. I realized how important self-care is, and what self-care means to me. The life right now is difficult – I broke up with boyfriend of seven [years] whom I was engaged to, moved out of the apartment to a small room in Brooklyn, and terribly broke. I have an upcoming solo show in Real Art Ways, CT and travel plans, so I cannot get a regular job soon either. With everything against me I should be really depressed and scared, but I am not. This feels like a new chapter of my life, and I feel so freed. I think having an imagination is very important, and having a concrete goal is probably even more important, and by working towards it everyday you can overcome the difficulties of current situation. When you have limited time to create, there are other ways to compensate like writing ideas, research images and save them on your phone, sparkle ideas with friends for what’s to come.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
I think I need to come up with a way to disconnect the way I earn my income from the time I spend on it. My focus for next three years would be financial freedom, time freedom and location freedom. I would love to see myself travel more frequently, dare my work to be even more unique, and go larger in paintings, and be seen in galleries and museums. I would like to create a more stable platform to support myself and perhaps I can live in my own apartment by then!
Also, I’ve been also collaborating on paintings, sculpture, and video work with other artists and it has been very fruitful, learning about myself that I was previously not aware of, gained new perspectives and opened possibilities for other mediums. The expansion is always exciting.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I am very self-forgiving right now. I know I am going through a tremendously transitioning period and I need to watch out for physical and mental fatigue. I am allowing more time for myself, and keeping my mind open to learn new skills and challenges. Everything is crazy, but all is well. I look forward to meeting myself next year, in 3 years, 5 years and 10 years later, and would feel proud of what I have accomplished. One step at a time, girl.
What are you fascinated with right now?
I went to South Korea for three months back in June for an exhibition “I’m Fine Thank You and You.” Seven close friends collaborated with each other and presented solo works in response to the pandemic period, and it was intense and wonderful. Then I extended my stay for two more months because there were so much to absorb. I have not spent such a prolonged time in my native country Korea since I immigrated to the U.S. back in 1994.
I’ve been active physically, attending Haenyeo School in Jeju Island weekly (“Sea Woman” or Haenyeo; referring to the female divers in Jeju Island - dating all the way back to 434 AD, these women free dive without oxygen tank or nets, and harvest sea life by hand to sustain their livelihood. They represent a unique matriarch society in a male dominant Korean culture) and freediving five times a week. I've been also riding a bicycle everywhere and it has changed my way of life. My interests have shifted towards environment; it makes me think about how I feel the air, wind, water, trees, flowers, and people.
What advice would you give your younger artist self?
It is okay to feel uncomfortable – the discomfort is basically the price of accelerated progress. Being scared just means you are about to grow. Also, getting super-fit would have increased my creativity and productivity considerably. Go out there and enjoy yourself more! Also, I wish I learned printmaking and photography more deeply. I took so many things for granted! Should’ve developed my own niche earlier and studied it longer. I have my regrets about ego too. So many should’ve, would’ve, could’ve. Learning to love yourself was probably the biggest thing I could have done when I was younger.
What are your tools for creative resilience these days? Do you have any methods to stay positive when life becomes difficult and perhaps when you have limited time to create?
Sitting still, contemplating in silence, and enjoying solitude. I realized how important self-care is, and what self-care means to me. The life right now is difficult – I broke up with boyfriend of seven [years] whom I was engaged to, moved out of the apartment to a small room in Brooklyn, and terribly broke. I have an upcoming solo show in Real Art Ways, CT and travel plans, so I cannot get a regular job soon either. With everything against me I should be really depressed and scared, but I am not. This feels like a new chapter of my life, and I feel so freed. I think having an imagination is very important, and having a concrete goal is probably even more important, and by working towards it everyday you can overcome the difficulties of current situation. When you have limited time to create, there are other ways to compensate like writing ideas, research images and save them on your phone, sparkle ideas with friends for what’s to come.
What is your dreamy vision for your creative career and art practice three years from now?
I think I need to come up with a way to disconnect the way I earn my income from the time I spend on it. My focus for next three years would be financial freedom, time freedom and location freedom. I would love to see myself travel more frequently, dare my work to be even more unique, and go larger in paintings, and be seen in galleries and museums. I would like to create a more stable platform to support myself and perhaps I can live in my own apartment by then!
Also, I’ve been also collaborating on paintings, sculpture, and video work with other artists and it has been very fruitful, learning about myself that I was previously not aware of, gained new perspectives and opened possibilities for other mediums. The expansion is always exciting.
How are you being kind to yourself as you look towards realizing your vision for your art career?
I am very self-forgiving right now. I know I am going through a tremendously transitioning period and I need to watch out for physical and mental fatigue. I am allowing more time for myself, and keeping my mind open to learn new skills and challenges. Everything is crazy, but all is well. I look forward to meeting myself next year, in 3 years, 5 years and 10 years later, and would feel proud of what I have accomplished. One step at a time, girl.
Find Kate Bae on Instagram
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