Exhibition of Hyperrealist Works from the 2010s, When Color Was Added to Monotone
“I can’t force the meaning of a work onto the viewer. If people can imagine many things when they look at a painting, that alone makes it a good painting.”
Kim Kang Yong, who is currently holding the exhibition Reality + Image: The 2010s at Gallery Chang in Manhattan, New York, said this in an interview with The Korea Economic Daily on the 10th. The exhibition, which runs through the 22nd, focuses on his works from the 2010s.
Kim is widely known as the “brick painter.” He creates his works using a technique in which he sifts sand he has collected himself, mixes it with adhesive, and spreads it thinly over the canvas. At one point, his paintings were so hyperrealistic that they looked as if real bricks had been embedded into the wall. In his own words, these days he simply adds shading with a brush to repeatedly depict cubic forms, yet people still see them as bricks.
“Even though I no longer paint bricks, people still interpret them as bricks,” he said. “But I don’t bother denying that interpretation.” He added that if people can imagine many things when they see his paintings, that alone is enough for him.
“I don’t really care who evaluates my work—whether it’s a journalist or a viewer,” Kim said. “Sometimes, through their interpretations, I even learn things about my inner self and my paintings that I didn’t know.” His philosophy is to remain faithful to visual images in painting and leave all other interpretations to each individual.
Kim first began painting bricks in 1976. While searching for his own subject matter and technique in order to debut as an artist, he eventually settled on bricks. He drew inspiration from construction sites, sand, and bricks that were everywhere during the era of industrialization. He worked with affection for each grain of sand. To him, sand symbolized human beings—each born with their own value.
After abstract painters such as Jackson Pollock and Mark Rothko reached their peak in the 1940s and 1950s, hyperrealism emerged in the 1970s as a reaction. The art world, considering the direction of painting after abstraction, chose a “return to reality.” Kim’s work followed this larger flow. Around this time, he introduced transition into his work. Whereas his earlier paintings were monotone, he began adding soft colors. This was influenced by his fascination with the diversity of New York.
“There was no single identical building, no single identical person,” he said. “I wanted to express that feeling in my paintings as well.”
Even as he introduced these changes, his works overall retain a warm image. Even when he expresses shadows, they strongly evoke the feeling of natural sunlight. This differs from the colder atmosphere of much contemporary hyperrealism, which often conveys modern urban chill, human absence, or loneliness.
“I myself am a positive and optimistic person,” Kim said. “I can’t help but let my inner self show through in my paintings.”
Kim said he hopes to continue his international activities through opportunities like this exhibition. “Most artists my age have retired, but I still want to paint,” he said. “I still have the desire to surpass my teachers.”
Gallery Chang has been consecutively presenting Kim’s works since February of last year to help audiences better understand the full scope of his practice. In January next year, the gallery will hold a joint exhibition of works by American abstract painters Andy Moses and Ed Moses alongside Kim’s works.
