MYONGHI KANG

In 1994, Kang opened a studio in Touraine, fostering a dialogue between her native South Korea, specifically Jeju Island, and France, a country she deeply cherishes. Her artistic explorations have taken her across the globe, from the vast Gobi Desert to the breathtaking landscapes of Patagonia, merging diverse cultures and experiences into her work.

At Château La Coste, Kang will present a poignant exhibition titled “Requiem,” commemorating a fading world through the lens of her artistry. The pavilion designed by Renzo Piano provides a stunning backdrop, where natural light harmonizes with her creations, reinforcing the deep connection between her art and the environment.

Curated by Villepin Art, the exhibition features twelve paintings and eighteen watercolors, tracing Kang’s extraordinary journey from figuration to poetic abstraction. Each piece serves as a meditation on the universe, reflecting her belief that painting transcends mere artistic endeavor; it is a spiritual act connecting her to the world’s vital forces.

Kang’s art is a testament to her lifelong quest for truth, light, and harmony. Her canvases are living entities, often left unfinished for years as she revisits them to refine colors and lines until they resonate with their intended form. This process embodies the essence of nature itself—ever-changing and evolving.

With her keen awareness of the threats facing both humanity and the natural world, Kang’s recent works echo her concerns about erosion, disappearance, and the destructive forces of modernity. Each painting becomes an act of resistance, a means of preserving beauty and vitality against the ravages of time.

Myonghi Kang’s return to Provence invites us to rediscover the sacred relationship between mankind and nature. Her paintings serve as sanctuaries, where viewers can reconnect with the cycle of life and embrace the beauty, truth, and harmony that guide us toward a better future.

Join us at Château La Coste to experience this extraordinary exhibition, a celebration of life, art, and the indomitable spirit of nature.

About Myonghi Kang

Myonghi Kang’s (b. 1947, Daegu, South Korea) vibrant cosmic paintings project a pure sensibility without boundaries. Through her canvases, the artist expresses a view of the natural world that vacillates between emptiness and profusion in myriad manifestations of colors, marks, and shapes. Myonghi has divided her time between South Korea and France for much of her life. She studied Fine Arts at the College of Fine Arts, Seoul National University. Myonghi immigrated to France in 1972. After a few years in the French capital, she started painting the urban street scenes of Paris and the surrounding nature when she moved to Quai de la Loire in the 1980s. After Myonghi started exhibiting her ethereal paintings, she befriended renowned artists, poets, and writers, including Zao Wou-Ki, Piotr Kowalski, Gilles Aillaud, Alain Jouffroy, and Dominique de Villepin. Her works gained widespread recognition in the late 1980s following several international solo exhibitions and poetry recitals, including shows at the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris (1986), the National Museum of Contemporary Art in Seoul (1989), and Beijing Art Museum of Imperial City in China (2011). In 1981, she and her husband Setaik were the founders of the Musée de Séoul in Seoul, the first museum of art in South Korea. The artist also participated in the exhibition and symposium Devant, le futur, as part of the World Expo held in Daejeon, South Korea in 1993.