Hyung Koo Kang (b.1954, Korea)
As a painter, Kang believes that direct copying from a photograph devalues the significance of painting. Instead, his photorealistic strokes render every hair and wrinkle visible in ways that the camera would not capture: stark and more realistic than what photographs could ever be. With Kang's portraits, it is not the surface that matters, but the way the dramatic images overwhelm and evoke emotional responses in the viewer through their large scale, saturated colouring and frequent distortions of perspective. One comes away from his works with a strong sense of encountering a life lived, of having survived the trials of history and, above all, empathy for the painted subject. In our media-saturated age, the sheer quantity of images that we encounter daily in print and digital forms encourages us to look, but not see. Kang's paintings precisely force us to stop, and see. This survey focuses on Kang's portrait paintings of the last 10 years, ranging from his popular personality portraits, spontaneous caricatures and sculptures, to his haunting self portraits.
artworks in collection
Sea-Hyun Lee
—b.1976, Korea
3 WorksSea-Hyun Lee
Yongbaek Lee
—b.1966, Korea
1 WorkYongbaek Lee
Yoon Suk One
—b. 1983, Korea
1 WorkYoon Suk One
Haegue Yang
—b.1971, Korea
3 WorksHaegue Yang
Liu Chuang
—b.1978, China
1 WorkLiu Chuang
Zhang Ding
—b.1980, China
1 WorkZhang Ding
Wei Dong
—b.1968, China
1 WorkWei Dong
Li Gang
—b.1986, China
2 WorksLi Gang
Weigang Gao
—b.1976, China
2 WorksWeigang Gao
Guo Hongwei, Li Shurui, Yang Xinguang
—b.1982; 1981; 1980, China
1 WorkGuo Hongwei, Li Shurui, Yang Xinguang
Wu Hao
—b.1985, China
3 WorksWu Hao
An He
—b.1971, China
1 WorkAn He
Yu Honglei
—b.1984, Inner Mongolia
4 WorksYu Honglei
Zhang Huan
—b.1965, China
1 WorkZhang Huan
Yu Ji
—b.1985, China
4 WorksYu Ji
Wang Jianwei
—b.1958, China
3 WorksWang Jianwei
Li Jikai
—b.1975, China
1 WorkLi Jikai
Li Jinghu
—b.1972, China
3 WorksLi Jinghu
Sea-Hyun Lee
—b.1976, Korea
3 WorksSea-Hyun Lee
Yongbaek Lee
—b.1966, Korea
1 WorkYongbaek Lee
Ming Li
—b. 1986, China
1 WorkMing Li
Tianbing Li
—b.1974, China
2 WorksTianbing Li
Guohe Liao
—b.1977, India
2 WorksGuohe Liao
Fang Lijun
—b.1963, China
1 WorkFang Lijun
Cheng Ran
—b.1981, China
1 WorkCheng Ran
Jin Shan
—b. 1977, China
1 WorkJin Shan
Ruijun Shen
—b. 1976, China
2 WorksRuijun Shen
Liu Shiyuan
—b.1985, China
2 WorksLiu Shiyuan
Timur Si-Qin
—b.1984, Germany/ Mongolia
2 WorksTimur Si-Qin
Yoon Suk One
—b. 1983, Korea
1 WorkYoon Suk One
Yi-Hsing Tzeng
—b.1979, Taiwan
1 WorkYi-Hsing Tzeng
Du Wang
—b.1956, China
1 WorkDu Wang
Liu Wei
—b.1972, China
2 WorksLiu Wei
Ai WeiWei
—b.1957, China
2 WorksAi WeiWei
Guan Xiao
—b.1983, China
2 WorksGuan Xiao
Liu Xiaodong
—b.1963, China
1 WorkLiu Xiaodong
Pei-Ming Yan
—b.1960, China
2 WorksPei-Ming Yan
Haegue Yang
—b.1971, Korea
3 WorksHaegue Yang
Zhu Yu
—b.1970, China
1 WorkZhu Yu
Dong Yuan
—b.1984, China
1 WorkDong Yuan
Song Yuanyuan
—b.1981, China
3 WorksSong Yuanyuan
Zhao Zhao
—b.1982, China
5 WorksZhao Zhao
Xu Zhen (MadeIn Company)
—est. 2009 , China
8 WorksXu Zhen (MadeIn Company)