Kim Amati is a Chicago-born artist who moved to Albuquerque in 2021 after a long-standing love affair with New Mexico—sparked years earlier by a Georgia O’Keeffe exhibition at the Art Institute of Chicago. Surrounded by desert light, color, and culture, she continues to find daily inspiration in her adopted home.

She holds a B.A. in Art from North Park University and spent years working as a graphic designer before a detour into the world of antiques ignited her passion for collecting. That habit now fuels her art.

Working in oils, acrylics, and especially mixed media, Kim delights in combining paint with found and vintage objects—jewelry, beads, buttons, crystals, figurines, and the beautifully broken. Giving these overlooked treasures a second life is at the heart of her process.

Kim has been selling her one-of-a-kind, colorful, and whimsical artwork for over 15 years at art fairs, galleries, and shops in Chicago, Santa Fe, and Albuquerque. Her work invites viewers to look closer and discover something unexpected.