Abeles has worked in a variety of different mediums including repurposed materials, drawing, multimedia, sculpture and installations. She often experiments with materials. Kim Abeles commented on her art as, "results from the urban experience, chronicling historical and contemporary issues housed in sculpture and installation." Her work begins with a singular person or idea and through her own independent research and exploration will delve into her chosen topic until she feels comfortable beginning her artwork. She describes her artwork as the poetic spirit in a visual language. Many of her projects address contemporary social and environmental issues. Kim Abeles explores such topical issues through humor and metaphors. Most of her work has revolved around three central themes:
civil rights,
feminism, and the environment. With her range of media and distinctive styles, Kim Abeles seamlessly unites her call for activism with her work aesthetics through new innovative techniques.
Collaborative work Abeles has worked with several educational organizations and schools to collaborate on installations and exhibitions. She has worked with the multiple art centers like: The Contemporary Art Center in Cincinnati, Community Arts Resource in Santa Monica, Orange Country Museum of Art Teen Council, the
California Science Center, and the CU Museum of Natural History in Boulder. Her more defining collaborators include the Bureau of Automotive Repair, the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, and the Lakota Indians of South Dakota. She has also collaborated in projects with agencies to ensure raising awareness for different topics such as pollution control agencies, museums, health clinics, etc.
The Smog Collector In 1987, her work
Smog Collector caught national and international attention, mentioned in
Newsweek,
National Public Radio,
CBS Evening News, and
The Wall Street Journal. She considers the work an ongoing series to which she is currently contributing. Her work was memorialized in the book,
Kim Abeles: Smog Collectors, 1987-2020.
To Sit As Ladder (In Honor of Rosa Parks) In some of her works pertaining to human rights, Abeles has taken a subjective approach that includes a presentation of individuals' portraits through text, maps, drawings, and objects. An example is her 1991 sculpture
To Sit As Ladder (In Honor of Rosa Parks) which displayed a chair with text to represent the life of
Rosa Parks.
HIV/AIDS Tarot Abeles' HIV/AIDS Tarot cards incorporate both image and text and discuss issues pertaining to the socioeconomic and medical aspects of AIDS. Only seven cards were issued, not a complete
Tarot deck. They were printed in both English and Spanish and used as part of a public health information program in Los Angeles in 1992.
The Golden Mile The Golden Mile is a 120 foot long photographic visual art piece located in the UK. The piece consists of photographs capturing both the East and West (stretching from the years 2003 - 2006) laid out and displayed at opposing ends. This installation was funded by Arts Council England, West Midlands, and The Public.
Walk a Mile in My Shoes The initial inspiration for
Walk a Mile in My Shoes was the political work of
Martin Luther King Jr. and the civil rights movement. Searching for images of King's actual shoes, Abeles was deeply affected when she viewed civil rights activist
Xernona Clayton's "profound collection of shoes belonging to members of the peace marches." The installations she created at the intersections of Jefferson Blvd. and Rodeo Rd. and Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. included bronze casts of King's work boots as well as photographs of national and local activists' shoes.
Pearls of Wisdom: End the Violence Created for a nonprofit organization, A Window Between Worlds (AWBW), Kim Abeles gathered 800 participants who are domestic violence victims to share their stories and design a pearl. The pearl-making process requires
mylar paper,
yarn,
bandage,
fiber cable,
paint, and an "Irritant"; any object can be an irritant depending on the maker that denotes their experience. Abeles encapsulates a powerful message through her work: "These women are not survivors, but rather, they are champions in the athletic and spiritual sense." Furthermore,
Pearls of Wisdom juxtaposes pearls with the pairing of domestic violence against beauty, emphasizing the concept that beauty doesn't stem from bad experiences, but instead from recovery.
Citizen Seeds Citizen Seeds is a public, permanent art installation created in 2020 that follows along the Playa to Park trail, funded by the Los Angeles County Arts & Culture. This piece features different sculptures of seeds created through mixed media in which the community, environments, and local journeys are illustrated and represented. ==Exhibitions==