The Burning Gaze

Hyung Koo Kang, Warrhol 2007 194 x 259 cm Oil on Canvas Collection of Youngsoo Huh

Korean artist Hyung Koo Kang may have come into painting comparatively late in life, but his dramatic, large-scale portraits of celebrities, artists, political figures and anonymous individuals – all featuring intense gazes and saturated colours – are today highly regarded.
The most haunting of all, however, is perhaps his own self-portrait where he fast-forwards the clock to his imagined future. “I plan my future after painting my 88-year-old self-portrait. In that moment, I feel like I am able to time-travel,” says Kang who has, as a means of personal introspection, undertaken a whole series of his own portraitures. 

He has also taken the ‘ageing process’ to some of his other subjects. “Many celebrities died early, so many people in the world still miss them and wish they are alive. Sometimes, I can share the feeling with the audience when I imagine that they are still alive and become old. I feel so excited when I paint them as an old man or paint the wrinkled face of an old woman.”

The artist’s first major solo exhibition at the Singapore Art Museum is currently showing over 80 works, including spontaneous caricature and sculptures that the public will get to see for the first time.  

Hyung Koo Kang Mao Zedong 2010 291 x 218cm Oil on Canvas Artist Collection

Kang chooses to base his paintings on self-constructed images of his subjects and through research and study, than through photographic or picture references.

“If I paint the objective material from taken photos, my painting contains nothing but enlargement. Art is a creation, and I have tried to paint figures created according to my interpretation,” explains Kang.

Hyung Koo Kang van Gogh in Red 2010 259 x 194 cm Oil on Canvas YLK Collection, Korea

In his work, Kang reveals his subjects in an honest and at times brutal manner to encourage viewers to reflect on their own preconceived ideas of these individuals and their identities.
The ongoing exhibition also features 2 new works detailing Kang’s interpretation of the Christ. 

 

“As a Catholic, I am always thinking of Jesus. However, Jesus is an awfully fearful subject matter,” says Kang. “Therefore, I chose a model who was a common person, but reminded me of Jesus… I do not want my artwork to be a slave to religion, but want instead to give the audience an open interpretation. I mean, the subject of the painting in my mind was Jesus, but it does not mean that the painting should be seen as a holy picture to everyone.”