Photo by Elodie Hekimian-Brogan
My work explores the body as a site of violence, power, intimacy, and political discourse, a personal record. Through the use of sculpture, video, audio, and painting I ask how the body recalls this history. Seeking how these experiences can be evoked and universalized, I deconstruct memories to their essential components. I frequently employ my body in the work through representation and performance. Investigating themes of fetishization, elation, manipulation, and addiction, the work often takes exaggerated, absurd forms. By utilizing overt sexualization, saturated colors, digital modes of deterioration, and warped figures, I command the viewer’s attention and reconcile my relationship with my body.
Kaia Love King-Hall was born in 2002 in Jacksonville, Florida. She is currently majoring in Art at the University of California, Irvine. King-Hall has been a part of various shows including Are You Seen? at the Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica and Eclectic Collective at Ouro Gallery, Los Angeles. King-Hall has been awarded the Ronn Davis Art Scholarship, the Stiefel/Dockweiler Art Scholarship, the James & Lucille Cayton Award, and the Benjamin Raj Sugar Memorial Scholarship. King-Hall was also a highlighted artist in KCRW’s Young Creators Project in 2022.
Education
2026 BA Art, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
2024 AA Studio Art, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
2024 AA Art History, Santa Monica College, Santa Monica, CA
Exhibitions
2025 Playing, Celebrating, Resisting, Playground, Los Angeles, CA
2024 Contrastasis, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
2024 Imprints, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
2024 Are You Seen?, Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2024 Spring Chickens, Venice, CA
2023 Brett Fonfa Foundation, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Abundant Spring, Bendix Building, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Eclectic Collective, Ouro Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Try Harder, 016Studios, Bakersfield, CA
2019 Lumpy’s House, Jacksonville, FL
Curatorial Projects
2024 Imprints, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
2024 Liminal Threads, University of California Irvine, Irvine, CA
2024 Spring Chickens, Venice, CA
Publications
2025 Cabral, KC, “FWIENDS!”, New Forum, Spring 2025, p. 82 https://bpb-us-e2.wpmucdn.com/sites.uci.edu/dist/4/3174/files/2025/06/newforum_2025_book.pdf
2024 “Kaia King-Hall”, Visionaries Magazine, Spring 2024, p. 4-10 https://www.smc.edu/barrett/visionaries/documents/SMC-Visionaries-2024-v1.pdf
2022 Zappas, Lindsay, “Young Creators Art spotlight: Kaia King-Hall”, KCRW, Spring 2022 https://www.kcrw.com/young-creators-project-2022/submissions/art-submissions/young-creators-art-spotlight-kaia-king-hall
Awards
2024 Ronn Davis Art Scholarship, Los Angeles, CA
2024 James & Lucille Cayton Award, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Benjamin Raj Sugar Memorial Scholarship, Los Angeles, CA
2023 Stiefel/Dockweiler Art Scholarship, Los Angeles, CA
2022 KCRW Young Creators Project, Los Angeles, CA
Professional Experience
2025 Curatorial Assistant, Art in Odd Places 2025: VOICE, West Hollywood, CA
2024 Administrative Assistant, Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2024 Editor, Graphic Designer, and Interviewer, Visionaries Magazine, Santa Monica, CA
2024 Lead Intern, Barrett Art Gallery, Santa Monica, CA