Clear Magazine‘s latest issue, “Dream Weavers,” debuted at Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York this past week. In honor of the event, Clear produced a collector’s edition, tree-free, 100% recyclable fall issue, and it’s being distributed throughout the week at related venues: in Tents at Bryant Park, and at hotels and galleries throughout the city. The limited-edition issue was printed on YUPO® synthetic papers, and was printed by Tepel Brothers Printing.

Also exciting to note: designer Stefan Sagmeister co-designed our cover wrap (above), and there’s a slew of great stories inside, featuring stars like Stefan Sagmeister, Issey Miyake, Hussein Chalayan, Yigal Azrouël, Matthew Williamson, Ross Lovegrove, Barbara Bui, Todd Bracher, Cappellini, Terence Koh and more.

Pick one up, or visit clearmag.com for more info. And check out my latest reviews plus interviews with Sagmeister, Miru Kim, Ross Lovegrove and Todd Bracher in the issue or on the writing samples page here (in the next few days). Thanks!

Manhattan Bridge, New York, NY, USA, 2009, Digital C-Print, 101.6 x 152.4cm, by Miru Kim

Demolition Zone, Aeogae, Seoul, Korea, 2009, Digital C-Print, 76 x 115cm, by Miru Kim

Michigan Theater, Detroit, MI, USA, 2009, Digital C-Print, 76 x 115cm, by Miru Kim

New York-based photographer Miru Kim makes her solo debut in Korea at Gallery HYUNDAI this month. Kim, who has explored urban ruins around the globe – subway stations, tunnels, sewers, catacombs, hospitals, factories and shipyards – juxtaposes her own, young and healthy body with the ghosts of abandoned industrial sites with haunting self-portraits in a series entitled “Naked City Spleen.” Recently, she’s also begun photographing herself with still-vibrant urban landmarks, such as the Williamsburg and Manhattan bridges.

The exhibition at gallery HYUNDAI Gangnam Space runs August 25th to September 13th, 2009. It will feature 48 large photographs from Naked City Spleen. The color catalogue contains 36 images and stories by Kim. The preface is an essay by Richard Vine, managing editor of Art in America.

Kim was born in Massachusetts and raised in Seoul. She attended Columbia University and Pratt Institute in NY. To learn more about Miru Kim, check out her great TED talk below. And look for my interview with Miru Kim in the upcoming fall issue of Clear Magazine.

For more information on the exhibit, visit Hyundai Gallery.

Photographer Miru Kim is an urban explorer. The Korean-born, New York-based artist spoke at the 2008 TED Conference about her ongoing series, Naked City Spleen. Juxtaposing her own delicate human form with haunting, industrial ruins, Kim’s work alternately reveals extreme loneliness and a bold fearlessness, and contrasts the living, supple world with a decaying one. In Naked City Spleen, we follow Kim’s fictional main character through abandoned factories, hospitals, subways and catacombs around the globe. Kim is also the founder of Naked City Arts, a New York-based organization dedicated to promoting young artists in the city and drawing artists down to lower Manhattan.

To learn more about Miru Kim, check out my interview with the artist in the upcoming issue of Clear Magazine.

For additional information, visit http://www.nakedcityarts.com/