PRINTEXHIBITED:
Hyung Koo Kang - Engrave , Arario Gallery, Seoul, November 8 - December 20, 2013
Hyung Koo Kang - Engrave , Arario Gallery, Seoul, November 8 - December 20, 2013
|
Monroe
|
|
2013 Oil and scratch on aluminum 244 x 120 cm Signed lower left Hyung Koo Kang in Korean and inscribed 11.09 |
|
Estimate
3,200,000 - 4,800,000 863,000 - 1,294,000 110,200 - 165,300
|
|
Inquiry
|
Catalogue Note:
MARYLIN MONROE
Hyung Koo Kang has been creating large-scale paintings since 1989, his subjects range from recognizable icons to personnels that exhibit interesting facial features. By employing a unique arsenal of tools that includes an airbrush, drill, erasers, cotton swabs, sandpaper and toothpicks, he has created works that aspire 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. Moving beyond Hyperrealism, the delicate soft contours on the face and the monotone palette creates a mysterious and appealing magnetism.
When asked about why Hyung Koo Kang often chooses to focus to paint portraitures, his response to that was: “Human faces bear the history of mankind as they implicate human history and emotions.” Many of Kang’s enlarged portraits are under the influence of Chuck Close, an American photo realistic painter and photographer. Kang choses large-scale portraits of people in order to create the monumentality for viewers, additionally, he has deliberately added the “ageing process” to some of his subject. The imagination of “What if someone is still alive, how would they have looked like” are depicted in Kang’s fictional version.
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most recognized iconic figures, even though Monroe passed away in 1962, her picture-perfect image of being the sexiest woman of the 50s remained until today. People remember her at her best time, the image of Monroe have inspired many creations. From contemporary artist like Andy Warhol to Vik Muniz, they have created everlasting images of her. In 1967, five years after Monroe’s death, Warhol established his print-publishing business, Marilyn Monroe was the first image he has chosen be publish a series of screenprints.
What will happen to an everlasting imagery of Monroe if she were to live beyond her age? The Korean artist Hyung Koo Kang seeks to add his imagined “ageing process” to his hyper-realistic portraits of people. For Kang, to paint Monroe at her eighties would seem to be much more fascinating than painting the “present” image of her, as it triggers people to wonder. Even more, his approach to this particular work of “Marylin Monroe” is oil paint on aluminum, and the detailed depiction of her hair is executed via scratching on the aluminum board. Through the use of this technique and material, more emphasis is placed on the dazzling eyes of hers when the viewer goes from one side to another. When the material of aluminum is employed, it provoked another aspect to the work from its original references to the photograph. What’s more is intriguing ageing details on the face of Monroe and her hands. When looked afar, one may not realize the subtlety of this, but only to feel the sense of grandness.
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.
Hyung Koo Kang has been creating large-scale paintings since 1989, his subjects range from recognizable icons to personnels that exhibit interesting facial features. By employing a unique arsenal of tools that includes an airbrush, drill, erasers, cotton swabs, sandpaper and toothpicks, he has created works that aspire 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. Moving beyond Hyperrealism, the delicate soft contours on the face and the monotone palette creates a mysterious and appealing magnetism.
When asked about why Hyung Koo Kang often chooses to focus to paint portraitures, his response to that was: “Human faces bear the history of mankind as they implicate human history and emotions.” Many of Kang’s enlarged portraits are under the influence of Chuck Close, an American photo realistic painter and photographer. Kang choses large-scale portraits of people in order to create the monumentality for viewers, additionally, he has deliberately added the “ageing process” to some of his subject. The imagination of “What if someone is still alive, how would they have looked like” are depicted in Kang’s fictional version.
Marilyn Monroe was one of the most recognized iconic figures, even though Monroe passed away in 1962, her picture-perfect image of being the sexiest woman of the 50s remained until today. People remember her at her best time, the image of Monroe have inspired many creations. From contemporary artist like Andy Warhol to Vik Muniz, they have created everlasting images of her. In 1967, five years after Monroe’s death, Warhol established his print-publishing business, Marilyn Monroe was the first image he has chosen be publish a series of screenprints.
What will happen to an everlasting imagery of Monroe if she were to live beyond her age? The Korean artist Hyung Koo Kang seeks to add his imagined “ageing process” to his hyper-realistic portraits of people. For Kang, to paint Monroe at her eighties would seem to be much more fascinating than painting the “present” image of her, as it triggers people to wonder. Even more, his approach to this particular work of “Marylin Monroe” is oil paint on aluminum, and the detailed depiction of her hair is executed via scratching on the aluminum board. Through the use of this technique and material, more emphasis is placed on the dazzling eyes of hers when the viewer goes from one side to another. When the material of aluminum is employed, it provoked another aspect to the work from its original references to the photograph. What’s more is intriguing ageing details on the face of Monroe and her hands. When looked afar, one may not realize the subtlety of this, but only to feel the sense of grandness.
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.