Loren Munk is a multidisciplinary visual artist whose work over the past several decades has focused on the art world community itself. His efforts manifest in oil paintings that portray neighborhoods, movements in art history and philosophical views of esthetics. Munk’s work has been reproduced in various media. The On the Bowery exhibition was based on his painting of the same name.

In tandem, he publishes video programs on YouTube that document exhibitions in New York City under the pseudonym James Kalm. During spontaneous gallery and museum visits, Munk records what he sees while providing extemporaneous narration to provide the viewer with context. Each video begins with live music which additionally provides an archive of the downtown New York busker scene. Over 18 years, these two channels have amassed nearly 1600 programs, fifty-eight thousand global subscribers, and tens of millions of views. Munk’s channels are frequently included in university curricula.

Born 1951, Salt Lake City, Utah
Lives and works in Brooklyn, New York

Credit: Todd Heisler/The New York Times