b. 1956, South Korea

Honggoo Kang Biography

Korean artist and writer Honggoo Kang's layered photographs, often of urban environments and redevelopment sites in Korea, interrogate the ubiquity of the photographic image and notions of veracity and falsity.

Read More

Early Life

Kang was born in 1956 in Eouido, a small island in Shinan, South Jeolla Province. After working as an elementary school teacher for five years, Kang went onto study painting at Hongik University of Art, Seoul, where he received his BFA (1988) and MFA (1990).

Artworks

The artifice of Kang's work is readily recognisable, whether through the conspicuous traces of construction or through the painted elements that the artist inserts into their photographic environments. With wit and a touch of the absurd, Kang examines the processes and aftermath of redevelopment, and memories and reality.

Painting and Photography

Though originally trained in painting, Kang shifted towards photography in the 1990s for the medium's integral role in the production and distribution of images in the contemporary world. Kang's early works, often made by scanning and collaging images from mass media, were also a reaction against the institution of art, which led him to create 'meaningless, empty, and absurd' photographs as he writes in a statement.

The resulting works were noticeably fake as with 'Who Am I' (1996–7), a series of photographs that saw Kang insert his faces into odd places in urban landscapes or film stills. The artist's bespectacled face repeats across the bodies of men in suits in Who Am I 10, while it suddenly floats above water in Seoul's Han River in Who Am I 16 (1996).

In 'Drama set' (2002), Kang was fascinated by the unapologetic theatricality of drama sets that were turned into tourist attractions after the success of South Korean dramas in select overseas countries. Photographing the sets in black and white, Kang not only captures the various fake facades and streets, but also highlights their fakeness by inserting human figures without shadows.

Redevelopment

Among Kang's recurrent subjects are redevelopment areas, near which the artist has lived. The black-and-white series 'Greenbelt' (1999–2001) shows the streets and trees of a greenbelt in Bucheon, which has since undergone redevelopment. Contradictory to its name, the greenbelt was not properly 'green'—as the artist recalled in 2021—and was only conceived and replaced as the urban city required it.

Similar narratives are at play in 'Landscape of Oshoiri' (2004), a small town in Bucheon that was deserted due to aeroplane noises in the 1980s onwards, and 'Vanish Away: A Record of Eunpyeong New Town' (2009), which records the changes in a Seoul district. Mostly in black and white, Kang's photographs observe the underside of urbanisation.

Shinan

In 2005, upon returning to Shinan for the first time in years, Kang noticed the distance between his memories of his hometown and present observations. For the following 17 years, the artist developed a body of work studying Shinan—as both an insider and outsider—that was presented in his solo exhibition The Sea of Shinan - Mud, Sand and Wind in 2022 at ONE AND J. Gallery in Seoul. Among the works on view was the large-scale painting The Complete Map of Shinan (2022), which, contrary to its title, is not an accurate map of the islands but a subjective representation of the artist's experiences.

Writing

A prolific writer of art theory and history, Kang has written broadly about Minimalism, Abstract Expressionism, photography, architecture, and artists' ateliers, among others, in Korean.

Exhibitions

Honggoo Kang has presented his works in solo and group exhibitions.

Solo exhibitions include The Sea of Shinan - Mud, Sand and Wind, ONE AND J. Gallery, Seoul (2022); House of Human being - Proxemics Busan, Goeun Photo Art Museum, Busan (2013); Vanish Away - A Record of Eunpyeong New Town, Mongin Art Center, Seoul (2009).

Group exhibitions include The City We Have Known, National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwacheon (2015); (Im)possible Landscape, Leeum, Samsung Museum of Art, Seoul (2012); Criminal Scenes in Korea, Alternative Space LOOP, Seoul (2010).

His work has been exhibited extensively with recent shows at Mongin Art Center, the Rodin Gallery, Leeum (Samsung Museum of Art), the National Museum of Contemporary Art. He also writes extensively and published five books and a collection of essays.

Sherry Paik | Ocula | 2022

Honggoo Kang
featured artworks

View 103 More
Uninhabited Island 109 by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting, print
Honggoo Kang Uninhabited Island 109, 2024 Pigment print and acrylic on canvas
100 x 104 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
April Sea by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang April Sea, 2024 Acrylic on cotton
134 x 154 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Uninhabited Island 105 by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting, print
Honggoo Kang Uninhabited Island 105, 2023 Pigment print and acrylic on canvas
121.5 x 170 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Rain Cloud by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang Rain Cloud, 2024 Acrylic on cotton
147 x 147 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Deep Sea by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang Deep Sea, 2024 Acrylic on cotton
118 x 55 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Overcast Sea 2 by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang Overcast Sea 2, 2024 Acrylic on cotton
82 x 154 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Night Sea 2 by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang Night Sea 2, 2024 Acrylic on cotton
150.5 x 279 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
Evening Sea 1 by Honggoo Kang contemporary artwork painting
Honggoo Kang Evening Sea 1, 2024 Acrylic on canvas
82 x 154 cm
ONE AND J. Gallery Request Price & Availability
View 103 More

Honggoo Kang
recent exhibitions

View 5 More
View 5 More

Represented by this
Ocula Member Gallery

View 5 More
Learn more about the market for works
by Honggoo Kang.
Enquire for a confidential discussion. Enquire Now
Simon Fisher, Ocula CEO
Ocula Advisor
Simon Fisher
Christoper Taylor, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Christopher Taylor
Eva Fuchs, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Eva Fuchs
Rory Mitchell, Ocula Advisor
Ocula Advisor
Rory Mitchell
Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Follow Honggoo Kang
Stay ahead.
Receive updates on new artworks,
exhibitions and articles.
Your personal data is held in accordance with our privacy policy.
Follow
Do you have an Ocula account?
Ocula discover the best in contemporary art icon.
Get Access
Join Ocula to request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Do you have an Ocula account? Login
What best describes your interest in art?

Subscribe to our newsletter for upcoming exhibitions, available works, events and more.
By clicking Sign Up or Continue with Facebook or Google, you agree to Ocula's Terms & Conditions. Your personal data is held in accordance with our Privacy Policy.
Thank you for joining us. Just one more thing...
Soon you will receive an email asking you to complete registration. If you do not receive it then you can check and edit the email address you entered.
Close
Thank you for joining us.
You can now request price and availability of artworks, exhibition price lists and build a collection of favourite artists, galleries and artworks.
Close
Welcome back to Ocula
Enter your email address and password below to login.
Reset Password
Enter your email address to receive a password reset link.
Reset Link Sent
We have sent you an email containing a link to reset your password. Simply click the link and enter your new password to complete this process.
Login