After a youth spent in Idaho and a formative stint abroad in the US Army, Loren Munk established his studio in New York City in 1979. He has pursued a commitment to painting and the artistic community ever since.

As a means of entering the critical and theoretical discourse, Munk created the persona James Kalm in the mid-nineties. Publishing hundreds of essays and reviews under this pseudonym, most notably in The Brooklyn Rail, he became increasingly fascinated with the history and associations of the New York art world.

For over two decades, Munk’s art world maps, artistic flow charts and ontology of art oil paintings have aestheticized art history and documented various art communities. His Kalm Report and Rough Cuts YouTube channels exemplify his blurring of criticism, historical documentation, journalism and performance art and contributed to a new mode of art reportage on the internet. Through this unique practice, Munk has developed a global audience.

Munk's work has been featured in numerous exhibitions, private collections, books and articles. He is frequently invited to collaborate on creative projects and meet with art students.

-James Kalm

Recent highlights

Articles, Inclusions and Mentions

The Bowery Bums by Cathy Nan Quinlan, December 2021

“Decoding Manhattan: Island of Diagrams, Maps, and Graphics” by Antonis Antoniou, Steven Heller, Abrams Books, 2021, pp 159, 175, 179

The Art World We Have Lost by David Carrier at Hyperallergic.com August 1, 2020 Updated November 5, 2020

East 10th Street (Passlof, Munk) posted on April 5, 2020 by Raphael Rubinstein

What to See in New York Galleries This Week, New York Times Jan. 23, 2019 by Will Heinrich

Prosess, Øyvind Sørfjordmo, Oslo National Academy of the Arts, 2018

Take a left at Drool Avenue: alternative NYC maps-in pictures, The Guardian UK, January 25, 2017

"Eccentric Modernisms Making Differences in the History of American Art” by Tirza True Latimer, University of California Press, December 2016

Movies and Interviews

LOREN MUNK: TALKING HISTORICAL PAINTINGS posted Mar 2022

winging it with loren munk aka james kalm posted August 2020

“Artists in NYC” Produced by Sanja Frank and Terence Donnellan Directed by Terence Donnellan and released spring 2019

Mapping SoHo with Loren Munk aka James Kalm posted December 2018

Podcasts

Dr. Lisa Gives a Sh*t, DLG1842 Loren Munk is a gift to the art world–plus he’s a fun guy, July 2019

ArtTactic Podcast, KALM Report’s Loren Munk on vlogging New York Gallery openings, March 2019

Selected Group Exhibitions

2022 “Singing in Unison: Artists Need to Create On the Same Scale That Society Has the Capacity to Destroy” with Peter Acheson, Phong H. Bui, Thornton Dial, Ron Gorchov, Bill Jensen, Margrit Lewczuk, Chris Martin, Joanna Pousette-Dart, Bill Traylor et.al. at: Below Grand “Jackson Pollock Portrait”, Ricco/Maresca “18 Situations over 6 Decades: Hoffman to Soho to Chelsea”, Scully Tomasko Foundation “Hell’s Hundred Acres: Soho 1960-2000”, Totah “Bushwick Unfinished: 2003 - 20014”, Miguel Abreu Gallery “The East Village”

2021 ”On the Bowery” at Zürcher Gallery, New York, curator and featured, with Vito Acconci, Lynda Benglis, Jake Berthot, Regina Bogat, William Burroughs, John Chamberland, David Diao, Roy Lichtenstein, Mark Rothko, Sol LeWitt et. al.

2020 “SUM Artists: Visual Diagrams & Systems-Based Explorations” at the Ruth and Elmer Wellin Museum of Art Hamilton Collage, curated by Matthew Deleget and Rossana Martinez

The Irascibles: Painters Against the Museum, Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain; “The Irascibles an exhibition that almost didn’t take place” documentation of the exhibition which closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic, written and directed by Adriano Morán and Javier Álvarez. Produced by the Fundación Juan March, Madrid, Spain December 2020

2019 The 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia (The Venice Biennial) in “Social Environment” at the Chiesa delle Penitenti Fondamenta Cannaregio, curated by Phong Bui and Francesca Pietropaolo

2018 “Under Erasure” curated by Heather and Raphael Rubinstein at Pierogi Gallery New York

2016 "It Was Never Linear: Recent Painting" at the Sheldon Museum of Art Lincoln Neb. with: Robert Bordo, Dawn Clements, Lois Dodd, Michelle Grabner, Colin Prahl, Peter Saul, Barbara Takenaga, and Stanley Whitney

"All Tomorrow's Parties" Inaugural Exhibition at Hathaway David Gallery Atlanta

2015 "If You Lived Here, You'd Be Home" curated by Jil Weinstock at the Children's Museum of the Arts

"Intimacy in Discourse: Unreasonable Sized Paintings" curated by Phong Bui at School of Visual Arts' Gallery, Chelsea

2014 "Some Artists" curated by Matthew Deleget at Minus Space.

Solo Exhibitions

2017 "PAINTING about THINKING about PAINTING" at the Schneider Museum of Art at Southern Oregon University

2015 "Reconnoitering: Cartography of an Art Enthusiast" at the Flecker Gallery, Suffolk County Community College, Selden, New York

2014 "You Are Here" at Freight+Volume, New York