Kim Lim (1936-1997) was a British-Singaporean artist of Chinese descent renowned for her exploration of the interplay between form, rhythm and light through primary mediums of sculpture and printmaking. In the 1950s, Lim moved to the UK to study at St. Martin’s College of Art and Slade School of Fine Art. Her use of wood, stone, and metal reflects her profound interest in both visual culture and architecture of the past with a unique perspective shaped by her extensive travels across Asia from 1956 to 1996. As Kim Lim’s first institutional solo exhibition in mainland China, this presentation will offer a comprehensive survey of the artist’s sculptural and print works that reflects her lifelong quest to transcend cultural boundaries. In an exploration of the universal characteristics of form and space within both Eastern and Western art traditions, viewers will be invited to engage in contemplation and dialogue between materiality and abstraction. This exhibition is curated by UCCA Curator Neil Zhang.

About the Artist

Kim Lim (1936-1997) arrived in London aged 17 to study at St. Martin’s School of Fine Art, later studying printmaking and sculpture at the Slade School of Fine Art. Two major exhibitions of her work in 2024 include “Kim Lim: A Space Between. A Retrospective” at the Singapore National Gallery, and “Daiga Grantina. Notes on Kim Lim” at the Kunstmuseum Appenzell, the artist’s first museum show in Europe. Other recent solo and group exhibitions include presentations at The Hepworth Wakefield, Manchester (2023-4); Turner Contemporary, Margate (2024); Whitechapel Gallery, London (2022); Barbican Art Gallery, London (2022); Tate Britain, London (2021); STPI Gallery, Singapore (2018); and Camden Arts Centre, London (1999). Kim Lim was also included in the 2023 editions of the Taipei Biennial and the Gwangju Biennale. Her works are held in significant collections including the National Gallery Singapore; Arts Council Collection, UK; Tate Collection, UK; and M+, Hong Kong.