Introduction
This exhibition highlights the masterworks of Kim Kang-Yong from the early to mid-2010s, a period widely regarded as the pinnacle of his artistic maturity. During these years, the artist lived in New York, immersing himself in a new environment that reshaped his practice. The unfamiliar light, sounds, and rhythms of the city, as well as the dynamic context of the international art world, became catalysts that pushed his work to new depths of intensity and reflection.
Sand and brick, his signature materials, gained new resonance through his New York experience. From a distance, the canvases appear photographic, yet up close, the densely layered grains of sand reveal themselves as tangible surfaces. This interplay between image and matter intensifies the tension between reality and illusion, compelling the viewer to ask: “What does it mean to see?”
During this period, Kim also engaged in dialogue with critics, collaborated with New York galleries, and participated in international exhibitions. These encounters gave his work a universal dimension while simultaneously deepening its philosophical roots in Korean materiality and tradition.
This exhibition is not merely a retrospective of a past era. It is a re-encounter with the moments when Kim Kang-Yong reached the height of his artistic achievement through dialogue with the city of New York. At the same time, it stands as a testimony to how Korean contemporary art has established a distinctive voice within the global stage.
For collectors, the exhibition offers rare significance. The works from Kim’s New York years are among the most complete and exceptional in his career, carrying both art historical weight and collectible value. More than aesthetic objects, these works become living presences—continuing conversations that unfold new meanings with time and resonate daily in the collector’s space.
「 REALITY + IMAGE: Revisiting the Works of the 2010s. 」
This exhibition is a meditation on how art reveals reality, and how the act of seeing itself becomes an endless dialogue.
