KANG Yo-bae Solo Exhibition I. Just, Image

Hakgojae Gallery is pleased to announce Kang Yo-bae’s solo exhibition. This is a large-scale exhibition, divided into two sections. The first section, 'Just, Image' is on view from May 25th to June 17th, 2018, in both Space 1 and Space 2 of Hakgojae Gallery. This exhibition is Kang’s first gallery exhibition following solo exhibitions in museums such as Jeju Museum of Art (Jeju, Korea) and Lee Jung-seob Gallery (Jeju, Korea), after receiving The Lee Jung-seob Award in 2015. In this exhibition, Kang presents works that capture the main subject of his oeuvres, the scenery of Jeju Island, along with the friends from nature that visit his studio’s surroundings, through his unique sensibility. The works depict a stray cat, herons, birds of passage, etc. that come and go Kang’s studio as well as trees and flowers that bloom and fall in his front yard. The works presented in this exhibition are recent works from the past two years. This exhibition is an opportunity to meet the paintings that overflow with the artist’s warm affection and amiability towards austere and overlooked things that encounter closely with life.
The character representing image (象) in the title of this exhibition signifies ‘elephant.’ ‘Elephant 象’ signifies ‘image’ in art related terms such as figure (形象), impression (印象), abstraction (抽象), symbol (表象), etc. This character derives from attempting to describe an elephant, which was an animal that were rarely seen in ancient times, through drawings instead of words. It is used to indicate the painted form imitating the shape of an object based on etymology, or the abstract image itself, emerging inside one’s mind. To complete his works, Kang sequentially follows stages for heading towards impression, imagery, and abstraction. The scenes that remain in our impressions and penetrate through the mind’s filter are moments that touch the essence of our lives; therefore, this exhibition manifests Kang’s path towards ‘searching for the essence of life.’
The second section of this exhibition, 'Memento, Camellia,' is on view after the first section, from June 22nd to July 15th, 2018. This exhibition encompasses Kang’s renowned historical paintings, which started from "The Camellia Has Fallen," in one place, for the first time. Kang’s works from 1989 to 2017 are presented under two categories; ‘The Camellia Has Fallen’ and ‘After Camellia.’ We hope that in-depth comprehension and research of Kang Yo-bae’s works arise through the two exhibitions.