KIM KANG YONG
b.1950, Korea
1950년 생인 김강용 화백은 1970년대부터 현재에 이르기까지 줄기차게 벽돌을 그려왔고, 이제 벽돌은 그의 트레이드마크가 되었다. 실재 벽돌의 중립적이고 기계적인 재현처럼 제시된 김강용의 ‘벽돌회화’는 사실 실재의 벽돌을 모사한 것이라기 보다는 작가 자신의 생각 속에 있는 벽돌을 그린 것이라 할 수 있다. 다시 말해서, 실재 모래를 화면 위에 고루 펴 바른 후, 그 위에 벽돌을 그림으로써 김강용의 벽돌은 실재 벽돌의 ‘리얼리티’를 품고 있지만 벽돌의 재현이나 그림자로서의 이미지가 아닌 추상적 존재로 탈바꿈한다.
김강용의 벽돌 회화는 그 무한 반복과 단순함 속에 수많은 변화를 내포하고, 창조적 파격들을 숨긴 듯 드러내며 관객으로 하여금 사색하도록 권한다. 그리고 궁극적으로 역사와 현실, 그리고 미래마저 시뮬라크르화 한 이 시대에 진실과 정의는 어디에 있는가? 라는 심각한 질문을 던진다. 진실과 허구의 구별이 모호하고, 원본의 의미가 무색한 오늘날 김강용의 차갑고 딱딱한 진실과도 같은 벽돌 회화가 그리워지는 이유가 여기에 있는 것이다. 그렇기에 공허해 보이는 그의 회화 한편에는 왠지 슬픈 듯, 따스한 듯 인간적 연민의 미소가 어려 있다.
KIM, who was born in 1950, conveyed the realities of life in Korea on canvas in a hyperrealist manner in the 1970s. His long-time subject matter, bricks, has now become the artist’s trademark. KIM’s bricks, presented in a neutral and mechanical representation of real bricks, can be considered as Korean reinterpretation of Hyperrealism. KIM’s paintings are so distinctive that they paintings are clearly distinguished from traditional figurative art as well as American Hyperrealism, which the artist was influenced by. Thus, what characterizes his work is not hyperrealist technique – it is simulacre, whereby an image becomes independent from the original, turns far more real than the original itself and functions as its own reality eventually.
KIM’s hyper-realistic work, an unprecedented innovation, renders far beyond ‘representation.’ They pose fundamental questions about an ‘image’ and a ‘painting’ hence the artist encourages the viewers to contemplate. Ultimately, the artist delivers a far-reaching question: where is the truth and justice in this era in which history, reality and even the future have been rendered as simulacre? This is why we are so drawn to KIM Kang Yong’s bricks, which may seem like a harsh cold-hearted truth at first glance, as they reclaim sympathy and compassion.'
Notes:
"Kim Kang Yong: Hyper Realistic Bricks Painting" by Lee Soukyoun, Chief Curator of Sungkok Art Museum
WORKS
Reality + Image 1812-1630
2018
Reality + Image 2312-2363
2023
Reality + Image 2501-2535
2025
Reality + Image 2110-1878
2021
Reality + Image 2512-2571
2025
Reality + Image 2501-2502
2025
Reality + Image 1812-1630
2018
Reality + Image 1710-1681
2017
Reality + Image 1707-1644
2017
EXHIBITIONS
N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea, 2026
N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea, 2025
Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Store
Culture Hall, Seoul, Korea, 2025-2026
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Berlin, Germany, 2024
N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea, 2024
Hyper Realistic Bricks
Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea, 2020
CV
EDUCATION
1981 M.F.A., Hong-ik University, Seoul, Korea
1978 B.F.A., Hong-ik University, Seoul, Korea
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2025 Gallery Chang, New York, USA
2025 The Columns Gallery, Singapore
2024 Bonte Gallery The Palace 131, Seoul, Korea
2024 Jean Design Art, Seoul, Korea
2022 The Columns Gallery, Singapore
2021 Gallery Kki, Paju, Korea
2021 N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea
2020 Sungkok Art Museum, Seoul, Korea
2019 Han Collection, London, UK
2019 Gallery LVS, Seoul, Korea
2017 Arts Center Korea, Seoul, Korea
2016 Fn Gallery, Special Opening Exhibition, Seoul, Korea
2014 Gallery MAHA 21, Seoul, Korea
2013 Peithner-Lichtenfels Gallery, Vienna, Austria
2013 Gallery Michael Schultz, Beijing, China
2012 Gallery Michael Schultz, Berlin, Germany
2010 Gallery Park Young, Seoul, Korea
2009 T Art Center, Beijing, China
2009 National Art Museum of China, Beijing, Chin
2008 Gana Art Center, Seoul, Korea
2007 Art Seasons Gallery, Singapore
2007 Kaze Gallery, Osaka, Japan
2006 Neuhoff gallery, New York, USA
2006 Mono Gallery, Beijing, China
2003 Johyun Gallery, Busan, Korea
and more
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 Sand and Soil, N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea
2026 The Mark of Time, Gallery Chang, New York, USA
2025 The Holiday Art Collection, Hyundai Department Store Trade Center Cultural Hall, Seoul, Korea
2025 Microcosmos, N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea
2024 Define Seoul, Seoul, Korea
2024 POSITIONS Berlin Art Fair, Berlin, Germany
2024 Art Busan, Bexco, Busan, Korea
2023 3 Voices, N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea
2023 Out of Boundless, ACC Gallery, New York, USA
2022 SPACE: Virtual and Reality Exhibition, Inje Naeseorak Museum of Art, Inje, Korea
2022 Korean Hyperrealism Painting Exhibition, Jeju Museum of Art, Jeju, Korea
2022 Representation and Reenactment Exhibition, Lotte Gallery Main Store, Seoul, Korea
2022 KIM KANG YONG / LEE SUK JU, N Gallery, Seongnam, Korea
2021 Seoul Media Canvas, Seoul Station Malli-dong Plaza, Seoul, Korea
2021 Remind Park Young, Gallery Park Young, Paju, Korea
2020 ART CLOUT Exhibition, Yangpyeong Museum of Art, Yangpyeong, Korea
2019 Millal Association Exhibition, Johyung Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2019 Cheongdam Dongsaeng Exhibition, Art Space Quilia Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2019 Hyperrealism Painting Invitation: Nature and Art, Ulsan Culture and Arts Center, Ulsan, Korea
2018 3rd Peace – Coexistence Exhibition, Arts Center Korea Hangaram Museum, Seoul, Korea
2018 Korean’s Spirit II, Art Vera’s Gallery, Geneva, Switzerland
2017 New Forms, Seokdang Museum, Busan, Korea
2017 France Yangpyeong Exhibition, Yangpyeong Museum of Art, Yangpyeong, Korea
2017 Atelier STORY Exhibition, Arts Center Korea Hangaram Museum, Seoul, Korea
2017 Kim Chang-yeol, Kim Ki-rin, Kim Kang-yong Three-person Exhibition, Hyundai Gallery, Seoul, Korea
2016 Seasons of Emotions, Jeongeup City Art Museum, Korea
2015 Korea–Japan Contemporary Art Exhibition, Seoul Museum of Art (Gyeonghuigung), Seoul, Korea
2015 Coexistence Exhibition, Yangpyeong Museum of Art, Yangpyeong, Korea
2015 AHAF HK 2015, Hong Kong
2010 Young Artists 30, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon, Korea
and more
COLLECTIONS
National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Seoul, Korea
Seoul Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Hongik University Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Hongik University Museum, Seoul, Korea
Seonggok Museum of Art, Seoul, Korea
Kidam Museum, Jeju Island, Korea
Park Soo-keun Museum, Seoul, Korea
Seoul Health College, Seoul, Korea
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea, Seoul, Korea
Samkwang Collection, Seoul, Korea
Yangpyeong Museum of Art, Yangpyeong, Korea
Incheon District Prosecutor’s Office, Incheon, Korea
Frederick Eiseman Art Foundation, Los Angeles, USA