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.