Artist Kang Yo-bae's First Solo Exhibition in 4 Years 'At First Sight'
Exhibiting 18 Recent Works Including 'Sansang' Painted After Climbing Hallasan Ten Times and 'Bicheon' Clouds Resembling the Freedom of a Seon-in
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Heeyoon] "A painting is a two-dimensional plane, but the process of creating it requires a three-dimensional experience beyond two dimensions." Painter Kang Yobaebae (70) meets the audience with eighteen recent works after four years.
The solo exhibition of Kang Yobaebae, held at Hakgojae in Sogyeok-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul, is composed of landscape paintings. The work that greets visitors at the entrance of the exhibition hall is Naegeumgang 'Junghyangseong (衆香城)', which depicts the scenery Kang captured during his visit to Geumgangsan in 1998. The foreground strongly recalls Geumjae Jeong Seon's Geumgangjeondo. Unlike Jeong Seon, who painted each peak for realistic depiction, Kang Yobaebae realized the landscape remaining in his mind on a large canvas over 3 meters wide.
The artist says he feels the seven emotions (喜怒哀樂愛惡欲) ? joy, anger, sorrow, pleasure, love, hate, and desire ? in the nature and weather of Jeju Island. Kang, who confessed that his main imagery during painting was anger, explained, "Angry feelings appear as Jeju's strong winds or waves, and at the same time, emotions of joy and sadness are also evoked."
Having climbed Hallasan nearly ten times, the artist completed 'Sansang (2022)' by repeatedly recalling the scenery he saw in his mind. It was painted from a bird's-eye view that actual hikers cannot see. The artist's understanding of the terrain, acquired while looking at Baengnokdam crater, is glimpsed through the pictorial imagery.
At first glance, 'Rose Morning Glow (2021)' looks like a painting of a sunset, but it captures the calm before the storm in the dawn sky before a typhoon with intense colors. 'Rose-colored Sky (2021)' also depicts the dawn sky but contains a huge rainbow, giving the emotion a distinctly different feeling.
Kang Yobaebae, who captures abstract landscapes based on reality on canvas, emphasizes that painting by looking at photographs should be absolutely avoided. He says that the moment an artist starts working based on a photo, they become subordinate to that image. Through work that is not simply visual reproduction but passes through the artist's mind and expression, he continues a composition that removes the unnecessary and leaves only what is essential from his own perspective.
Pungseolmae (風雪梅) Plum Blossom In Snowstorm, 2022, Acrylic on canvas, 130x162cm. Photo by Hakgojae Gallery
'Pungseolmae (風雪梅) (2022)', which blooms with red plum blossoms amid harsh snow and wind, evokes an elegant sentiment through the composition of white snow flying in the wind and red plum blossoms resisting it. The freely flying clouds between the blue sky in 'Bicheon (飛天) (2022)' lightly flutter as if watching the free movements of a celestial being (seonin) floating in the sky. Art critic Kim Jungbok analyzed this work, saying, "The flow of air is sharp like the auspicious patterns seen in Goguryeo murals." The artist also stated that this work is the most satisfying piece in this exhibition.
Having reached the age of 70 (Jongsim, 從心), the artist said he wants to continue painting abstractions that reveal only the core. As he wishes, Jeju's sky, sea, land, and wind have passed through his eyes and imagination to be born as unique works that are figurative yet abstract-like. The exhibition runs until September 30 at Hakgojae in Samcheong-dong, Jongno-gu, Seoul.
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