In 2021, ARTnews described her as "one of the most closely watched curators in the U.S."[2] Kim, a Korean American, was born in Newport Beach and raised in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Kim organized the exhibition Freestyle (2000)[9] popularizing the term "post-black art"[2] and featuring work by artists such as Mark Bradford, Jennie C. Jones, Dave McKenzie, and Julie Mehretu.
Later, Kim presented exhibitions such as Kehinde Wiley: World Stage Lagos - Dakar (2008)[12] and Flow (2008),[13] referred to as the "African 'F' show" featuring work by artists from Africa such as Latifa Echakhch, Nicholas Hlobo, Otobong Nkanga, and Lynette Yiadom-Boakye at the Studio Museum.
She also co-founded the Los Angeles Nomadic Division (LAND) a non-profit committed to temporary, site-specific public art exhibitions with curator Shamim M.
[19][20] Kim later remarried Dr. Kevin Gruenberg, clinical psychologist and the co-founder and Executive Director of Love, Dad: Support for Fathers and Families.