lorenmunkstudio

James Kalm is the foremost art vlogger in the world. For near daily almost instantaneous reports on the New York art scene, check out James Kalm Rough Cut.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

FRAME PAINTING FRIDAY: In the wake of Michael Stewart’s chock hold death by police near Union Square, and my own arrest for graffiti, I started a series of works depicting cops. This is “Coffee Break” oil on linen, glass on wood, 22k goldleaf.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

James Kalm for years has had an abiding interest in the Spiritual in art.For this historical exhibition curator Susan L. Aberth has brought together a selection of 17 female artists, who claimed to be directed by forces from other planes of consciousness.https://t.co/Wy5bbrz64u

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

This is “Willen de Kooning (portrait)” oil on linen 30 x 48 inches. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk #kalmsees

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

TIME AND PLACE: The recent passing of Peter Nagy brought on a period of reflection and memory. For many artists, too young to partake in the SoHo scene, the East Village was a DIY alternative. This is “What Happened After the East Village Happened” oil on linen 36 x 42 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

FRAME PAINTING FRIDAY: A cubistic version of a common Brooklyn scene. Mom shares pizza with the kids, Columbia and Union Street, Cobble Hill. This is “Family Pizza” oil on linen, glass and 22k gold leaf on wood 60 x 72 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

https://t.co/wxN0k0O90W

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

TIME AND PLACE: Around 2007, I’d heard rumors about an enclave of scruffy young galleries that’d popped up around Flushing Ave. at Morgan. They were calling it Bushwick. I watched as the nabe went from a couple of spaces to a community with something over forty galleries.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

TIME AND PLACE: A diagram contrasting the historic art happenings in New York versus California 1957-1965. A lot of interesting stuff was developing in parallel on both coasts. This is “East Coast-West Coast 1957-1965” oil on linen 3 panels 32 x 38 inches

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

FRAME PAINTING FRIDAY: One of my ideas when I started doing the “frame paintings” was to pick the most everyday subjects. Then, by surrounding the paintings with a frame, some type of magic would elevate the content, This is “Squirt” oil on linen glass on wood 49 by 37 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

A pic of Chris Martin @chrismartin764 in his studio from Jan. 2000

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

A page from the sketch book. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk #kalmsees

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

James Kalm is out and about on his bike for the first time in nearly a year. It’s near closing time in Chelsea when your reporter drops in for a visit at David Zwirner, and is pleasantly surprised by a show of landscape paintings by Scott Kahn. https://t.co/IfdEK3eTYp

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

Although I painted this piece several years ago, last week I was pedaling through Red Hook and saw guys playing dominos in the park looking very much by like this. I felt like a time traveler. This is “Dominos” oil on linen 22k gold leaf 72 x 96 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

A recent page from the sketch book. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk #kalmsees #contemporarypainting

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

AFTER NEARLY A YEAR, I’m finally back on my bike. Cruising up to Grand Army Plaza yesterday, I caught some video of a great head balancer with a wide screen TV. Amazing what you can see on two wheels. #jameskalmreport #jameskalmroughcut #lorenmunk #kalmsees

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

FRAME PAINTING FRIDAY: In my neighborhood in Brooklyn, the local bodegas are an organic center of the community, and they provided me with a wealth of subject matter for years. This is a version of “Tropical” oil on linen glass on wood, 56 x 48 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

I spent several of my early years in New York driving the delivery truck for Utrecht Linens the art supply store (111 4th Avenue). I kept logbooks of all the addresses I’d drop off orders at. This is one of the first map paintings, “The Bowery Map (study)” oil on linen 36 x 24.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

Last tweaks on this, the second version of “The Colors of Class II”. Oil on linen 36 x 54 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

FRAME PAINTING FRIDAY: Summer 2026 is zipping by fast, enjoy what’s left of it. This is an oldy but goody, “ICE” oil on linen glass on wood 48 x 36 inches.

[lorenmunkstudio @lorenmunkstudio]

ART IS A SOCIAL PRACTICE with all the complexities that implies. I’ve been working on a series of diagrams to illustrate aspects of this theory. (I’m still working on it) This is “Institutional Blinding” oil on linen, 42 x 54 inches.