Hyunae Kang
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Hyunae Kang was born in 1959 in Chungcheongnam-do, Korea. Despite the rapid industrialization South Korea un-derwent in the 60s and 70s, the rural farming village in which Kang spent her childhood remained largely untouched by modernization, and she grew up with a deep appreciation of the natural beauty of the mountains and the seas that would become a throughline for her art.
Kang moved to Seoul in 1977 where she received both her BFA and MFA in sculpture from the prestigious Ewha Womans University. In addition to sculpture, Kang also studied painting, drawing, print-making, and traditional Kore- an ceramics, learning from some of the most accomplished artists in Korea at the time. Kang’s career as an artist began in the early 1990s. Her first solo exhibition was in 1991 at the Gallery Hyundai in Seoul, the oldest and most revered contemporary art gallery in South Korea. Her sculptures were also included in a 1993 exhibition at the Art Museum of Soul and the 1995 Korea Fine Art Grand Exhibition.
The dominant theme of the works from this early period is the tension between geometric modernism and organic abstraction. Kang explores the interplay between the theoretical and the natural through elements of sculpture. Pure geometric shapes like spheres and cubes unfurl into amorphous forms whose irregularity evokes a sense of the primordial. Similarly, the uncanny smoothness of polished stone or bronze is disrupted by craggy patches resembling biomatter. Even Kang’s choice in mediums is an interrogation of the two seemingly oppositional concepts; by juxta- posing burnished bronze with grainy wood or translucent marble with impenetrable obsidian, Kang embraces material alterity to achieve visual harmony.
Kang immigrated to the United States in 1993, leaving behind her rapidly ascendant career in the Korean art world in order to expand her horizons. Despite having no prior connections to American galleries or museums, Kang was able to establish herself as a rising artist in Southern California. Her first American exhibition was at the Cerritos Public Library in 1998, followed by shows at the Elizabeth Edwards Fine Art Gallery in Laguna Beach in 2001, Elizabeth Fine Arts Gallery in Palm Desert and Gallery 3 in Fullerton in 2002.
The move to the United States marked a major turning point in Kang’s art. She started to create paintings. Although these paintings are in many respects a continuation of her earlier sculptural phase, as evident in the continuous exploration of nature as a theme and use of texture, they also represent a new beginning for Kang. Having become isolated from the Korean art world, Kang forged a new distinct style that was uniquely hers which can be seen in her use of color and texture. Unlike other artists of the Dansaekhwa movement whose works are characterized by monochromatic austerity and muted earth tones, Kang revels in her use of bright colors. Citing newfound influence from American artists such as Rothko, Motherwell, and Frankenthaler, Kang embraces a more kaleidoscopic palette, painting with delightfully bright pigment whose luster evokes a sense of the ethereal.
Kang has been very active during the past decade, with her works being exhibited in numerous galleries, art shows, and museums. She has had solo exhibitions in multiple cities in the United States, as well as Monaco, Mexico, Russia, and Italy. She has also been featured in many group shows in the United States, Italy, Russia, Korea, Hong Kong, and China. And most recently, Kang has had her first career retrospective titled “Dialogues with the Sacred” at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim, California.
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Hyunae Kang
EDUCATION
1992 ~ 1993: Instructor at Hanyang Woman’s College
1991: MFA Sculpture at Ewha University in Seoul, Korea
1986: BFA Sculpture at Ewha University in Seoul, Korea
SOLO / INVITATION EXHIBITIONS
2024
Ceremony | ㅣLechbinska Gallery (Switzerland)
2023
The Voice of the Sacred | Shatto Gallery (LA, CA)
2022
Dialogues with the Sacred | Muzeo Museum (Anaheim, CA)
2021
Hyunae Kang | Moscow Ritz Carlton, Boccara Art and Cube Moscow (Moscow, Russia)
2020
Dansaekhwa | Accademia Fine Art (Monaco)
Dansaekhwa | Museo dei Bozzetti (Pietrasanta, Italy)
Invitational Exhibition | Gary Rubinstein Antiques and Design (Miami, FL)
The Window to Heaven | Premaco Monterrey, Boccara Art (Monterrey, Mexico)
2019
Distant Haptics | Boccara Art (Brooklyn, NY)
Invitational Exhibition | Gary Rubinstein Antiques and Design (Miami, FL)
2018
Nature and Culture: A Glimpse into Contemporary Korean Art with Hyunae Kang | Boccara Art (Brooklyn, NY)
Let there be Light | Muzeo Museum (Anaheim, CA)
Invitational Exhibition | Yacht Club de Monaco (Monaco)
Windows in Heaven | Center Gallery (Anaheim, CA)
2002
Invitational Exhibition | Gallery 3 (Fullerton, CA)
Meditations in Form | Elizabeth Edwards Fine Arts (Palm Desert, CA)
2001
Meditations in Form | Elizabeth Edwards Fine Arts (Laguna Beach, CA)
1998
Invitational Exhibition | Cerritos Public Library (Cerritos, CA)
1991
Hyundai Gallery (Seoul, Korea)
AUCTION
2019: Sunrise | Accademia Fine Art (Monaco)
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2024: • Aesop Collaboration (Switzerland)
• Boccara Gallery (Palm Beach)
• Art Miami (Miami, FL)
• KIAF 2023 (Seoul, Korea)
2023: • Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary (Palm Beach, FL)
2022: • Hamptons Fine Art Fair (NY)
• Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary (Palm Beach, FL)
• Art Miami 2022 (Miami, FL)
2021: • Boccara Art | Russian Antique Salon, Contemporary Art Section (Moscow, Russia)
• Art Miami 2021 (Miami, FL)
2020: • Boccara Art | Cube Moscow (Moscow, Russia)
• Asia Art Week New York (NYC, NY)
• Boccara Art Opening Exhibition | Boccara Art Miami (Miami, FL)
• Oblong Contemporary Art Gallery (Forte de Marmi, Italy)
2019: • KIAF 2019 (Seoul, Korea)
• Art Miami 2019 (Miami, FL)
• Art Central Hong Kong (Hong Kong)
• LA Art Show (Los Angeles, CA)
• Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary (Palm Beach, FL)
2018: • Boccara Art Grand Opening | Boccara Art (Brooklyn, NY)
• Art New York (NYC, NY)
• Art Shanghai (Shanghai, China)
• Art Miami (Miami, FL)
• Made in California | Brea Gallery (Brea, CA)
• Boccara Art | Boccara Art (Monaco)
2002: • Palm Springs International Art Fair
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2020: • Exploring Dansaekhwa: The Meditative Korean Art of Monochrome Painting | Artland •Featured Listing | 1stdibs
2018: • Featured Listing from Palm Beach Modern + Contemporary | Artsy
2017: • Featured Artist | Artsy
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Since 2022: WINDOW IN HEAVEN TRILOGY E22 | Ewha Womans University Museum (Seoul, Korea)
Since 2022: ETHER 7A21 (Mixed Media 48"x60") | Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center (Anaheim, CA)
Since 2022: WINTER FALL HEXALOGY | SaRang Church (Seoul, Korea)
Since 2022: FOREST (Bronze, 34"x16"x21") | SaRang Church (Seoul, Korea)
Since 2021: GLEAM DUOLOGY | Suncheon Museum of Modern Art (Suncheon, Korea)
Since 2018: SKY | Muzeo Museum (Anaheim, CA)
Since 2016: THE BREA HILLS | Brea Museum and Historical Society (Brea, CA)
Since 1993: TOGETHER | Art Museum of Seoul (Seoul, Korea)