Kim is an abstract painter and multidisciplinary artist living and working in Boise, Idaho. She has exhibited paintings and performance art nationally and internationally for two decades.
Kim’s work is heavily influenced by the diversity of her life experiences. Raised in a fifth-generation ranching family of immigrant homesteaders and Basque sheepherders, Kim’s work reflects elements of nature, vast sky lines, denuded plains and the wild botanical life of high mountain desert. In stark contrast to rural living, her formative adult years were spent studying and working in densely populated cities such as Madrid, Tokyo, Paris and Conakry, Guinea - West Africa.
Kim is intrigued by the unseen forces of nature which direct the physical world and the play between vast and dense. Her work is characterized by layers built upon hidden layers of purposely exposed materials including paper, fabric, ceramic stucco, glass bead and oil stick. Beneath minimalist, abstract images, she deliberately reveals colorful textures and patterns, which provide glimpses of an underlying DNA. Her process aims to represent that which encodes and directs the formation of recognizable objects associated with beauty. Her distressing techniques bear the impact of our outer world and the environmental influences which leave their mark on every living and material thing. Kim’s pieces hold with in them a sense of history, having had a journey of their own. She aims to capture the consequences of burnishing wind, water and sun along with the effects of city grit and hustle resulting in recognizable patterns of decay calling attention to the beauty of transition and imperfection.
KIM BENNETT PORTER CV
SOLO SHOWS
2024 - KIN - Boise, ID - In Praise of Togetherness
2023 - Roots Gallery - Garden City, ID – Drawn In
2022 - District Coffee House - Boise, ID - Circulate
2021 - District Coffee House - Boise, ID - Develop
2020 - Onetrust Homes - Boise, ID - The Moment Before
2019 - Sage Studios - Boise, ID - The Eyes Have It
2019 - JUMP - Boise, ID - Move Studio Open - Ya Kos Means Now
2018 - Modern Art at the Modern Hotel, Boise ID – Liberte’!
GROUP AND FEATURED SHOWS
2023 - Surel’s Place, Garden City, ID - Group show Backyard Artist – 13 Milliseconds
2023 - Flamingo House, Garden City, ID Group show – The Before
2023 - The Riverside Hotel Water’s Edge Gallery, Garden City, ID - selected works
2023 - Delia Dante Fire Fusion Gallery - selected works
2022 - December Open House Celebration at The Common Well, Garden City, ID – selected works
2019 - West Elm, Boise ID Local Artist Exhibition - selected works
PUBLIC ART
2023 – North End Alley Project - Mural
2023 - Treefort Music Festival selected artist for window painting art gallery
2022, 21 - Boise Pride Festival, Boise ID - performance art, costume and parade marketing design
2022, 21 - Boise Goathead Festival, Boise ID - performance art, costume and visual designs
2022, 21 Hyde Park Street Fair, Boise ID - performance art, teaching, public speaking on cultural art
2019 - World Village Festival, Boise ID - performance art, teaching, public speaking on cultural art
GRANTS
2023 - Backyard Artists Emerging Artist Grant
2023 – North End Alley Project
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT / CONTRIBUTING MEMBER
Surel’s Place
MING Studios
Backyard Artists 501c3
Garden City Placemaking Fund
Creative Mornings Boise
Treasure Valley Artist Alliance
Global Lounge 501c3
Idaho Outfitters and Guides
International Rescue Committee
Make-A-Wish Idaho
Boise Basque Association
Idaho Rivers United