"Isn't it a photo?"... Jo Hyun Gallery Kang Kang-hoon's Solo Exhibition Traversing Realism and Abstraction

[Financial News] The works hanging in the exhibition hall were not photographs. They were paintings so intricate that they were indistinguishable from photos. Every detail, down to the fluff and the shadows in the eyes, was painted with a brush. Kang Kang-hoon, the artist, presents works that make one deeply contemplate the boundary between what is seen and unseen through his paintings.
The solo exhibition of Kang Kang-hoon, which makes each painting exist like a 'portrait' and a 'scene of memory' captured in time, is held at Jo Hyun Gallery Seoul, located in the basement of Shilla Hotel in Jung-gu, Seoul, until July 13.
This exhibition is his first solo exhibition in two and a half years since 2022, featuring four large-scale works of 200 size and new works themed on figures and cotton flowers.
The cotton flower, which frequently appears in his works, symbolizes the late mother of the artist Kang, who passed away in 2022, and signifies a special presence inherent in natural objects. The cotton flower holds a dual meaning of nurturing new life through its soft fluff and leaves, like white hair or hands. It represents the connection between generations and the changing existence, showing the ambiguous boundary between presence and absence, what is seen and unseen.
The omitted details in the cotton flower paintings, the texture of thick paint, and the restrained colors create a unique visual characteristic. While possessing a material form, it transcends towards a transcendental world, crossing the boundaries of abstract expression. Through this, Kang emphasizes the changing existence in nature, the continuity of life, and immaterial themes like the soul.



The cotton flower placed alongside his daughter's face, the light reflecting in the painting, and the wind blowing from somewhere symbolically represent the flow of existence continuing across generations.
It also holds special meaning as a visual symbol that evokes memories of existence that continues anew despite disappearing. All of this encapsulates the essence of painting that Kang has consistently explored.
Other representative works like 'The Sun Sets', 'The Rain Stops', 'Everything Passes By', aim to become landscapes evoked by human emotions through metaphors arising from natural phenomena, as the lyrical titles suggest.
After losing his mother, all phenomena that occurred were influenced by metaphors, particularly those felt from natural phenomena, Kang explained.
He added, "Rain may bring us metaphors of trials, but eventually, it stops, and the sun rises," and "All things and nature do not merely exist; we create windows through metaphors and view them, and the value that constitutes the world is born that way."
In the future, Kang plans to continue his work to convey the essence of portraiture in a country where portraiture is still barren.
He emphasized, "What people need is to think about human dignity by drawing human figures," and "If we do not draw our figures just because it is difficult to handle and there is little market demand, it would be turning a blind eye to my calling. Even if these small callings come together to make people think about human existence and humanity, the act of drawing figures must continue."



Jo Hyun Gallery stated, "The essence of painting that Kang has consistently explored, the 'felt' beyond the visible, is strongly manifested in this exhibition," and "He is an artist who presents broad themes of past and future at the boundary of realism (figurative painting) and abstraction (non-figurative painting)."
They continued, "His portrait series does not merely depict a subject at the level of reproduction but leads viewers to enter the inner world following the emotional line of the figure, facing their true self," and "His daughter, who occasionally appears as a subject in his works, is a reflection of the artist himself, and the work stemming from not wanting to miss a moment of a life resembling Kang is expressed fluidly with free forms of paint."
Meanwhile, his works are also housed in the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art. They have garnered much attention, being sold out at various art fairs worldwide, including Hong Kong, Singapore, and Shanghai.

rsunjun@fnnews.com Yuseon Jun Reporter