EXHIBITED:
Art Beijing 2007 , National Agricultural Exhibition Center (New Hall), Beijing, September 20-23, 2007

Hyung Koo's Kang enamored of painting is portrayed through the thematic oeuvre of his detailed portraitures that seeks to reveal the universal truths of humanity. Kang has been creating large-scale paintings since 1989 and his subjects ranges from recognizable icons to personnels that exhibit interesting facial features rendered by employing a unique arsenal of tools that includes an airbrush, drill, erasers, cotton swabs, sandpaper and toothpicks in creating works that aspires to illustrate an alternative reality based on potential and possibilities. In essence, Kang's portraitures are a primitive portrayal of his subjective aesthetics driven by his psychological connections with his subjects that he endeavors to bring to life. "Untitled" exhibits the magnificence of the artist's large scale portrait works imbued with a compositional focus that magnifies the facial features of his subject to reveal a diversity of complex emotions through the exquisite details. Moving beyond Hyperrealism, the delicate soft contours on the face and the monotone palette creates a mysterious and appealing magnetism, which involves a mastery of the emblematic utilization of tonal grey and blacks as the figure's black texturized ensemble brings forth the delicate features of the subject's face against the white ground, where the finely depicted hair is interwoven with intricate strands of white hairs that diverts and pulls one's attention towards the soft hypnotic gaze of his eyes. The shadow casted over the inner corners of his eyes works in harmony with the figure's expressive features in telling a more complete story, one that is largely contingent upon the emotional response and imagination of the viewer. As Kang posits, "By magnifying the facial features the portrait reveals traces of hidden emotion that might not be otherwise seen on a normal scale. Nonetheless, the viewer is presented with an extraordinary view of the human face that strives to instill greater empathy. " In this regard, one's eyes is a key to the core expressionism in extracting their spiritual existence and introverted soul. It is through such attributes that Kang induces an evocations of emotional responses and ventures beyond the realm of pure representation towards exquisite implications that instills his subjects with an aura that exceeds mere representation or imitation.