Kwangsu Oh (Critic)
Monthly art magazine Wolgan Misul, November, 1995

 

An exhibition of Kukjin Kang organized by his aides who formed the ‘Tribute Association for Kukjin Kang’ opened for third anniversary of .his death. As for Kang’s lifetime achievements from the 70s to 1992, the streak can be outlined in fourfold, with the first being the inception of ‘Nonggol’ era in 1965 towards ‘Chungnyun jakka yeunlipjun’ (Exhibition of young artist’s union) in 1967 and 1968, the second period in the early 1970 that he primarily concentrated on object arts, the third with flat screen painting of sensitive linear brush strokes towards the mid-80s, and finally the fourth with mixture of spontaneity and various metaphoric images until his last years.

 

The first period of his career was mainly marked by his gesture-first attitude and his willingness to try as many forms of expressions as his imagination allowed, solidifying his image as a hyper-active artist in mission. Although his ‘Nonggol’ activities consisted of their opposition of the established regime of Abstract Expressionism, they didn’t enjoy the full discrimination from the old they had been longing. By the token of this, it could be convincingly argued that the artists who were actively participating to make formative changes in the art world, not to mention the ‘Nonggol’ group itself, were the last of the Abstract Expressionism generation. Then came the milestone of ‘Chungnyun jakka yeunlipjun’ in the ‘Joong Ang gongbokwan hwarang’ (Gallery of Joong Ang Public Information Center) in 1967 which featured various works of art in different forms after the generation marked by the Abstract Expressionists. The exhibition, synthesized in their own rights, was characterized by object, conceptual and instillation arts. The artists also defied the conventional realm of space to experiment performances and happenings.

Kang himself led the movement at the forefront, participating in multiple happening pieces and working on their compositions. And such deeds were regarded as unique considering the socio-political motivation behind them.
The works of Kang into the 70s were more object-based. It was a contextual extension of the ‘Chungnyun jakka yeunlipjun’ which was highly environment-conscious. The 3rd anniversary exhibition sadly didn’t include the original pieces in place, but with the help of lively photos, I was able to investigate what went through his mind at the time.
Kang’s shift back to tableaux happened during the third part of his professional career in the mid 70s, and the tribute exhibition featuring mostly the works from the third and last period. Upon revision of the preceding modes of experimental art, his operation changed back to 2-D, namely the work on the art of linearity and rhythm with sensitive brush strokes filling up the whole canvas. His most representative series of this sort was called Garak, linked indirectly to the concept of the sweeping monotone trend but nevertheless the result of his own unique, independent alignments. These works, later on in the 80s and the early 90s, develop into a more multifarious form of expression featuring geometric and traditional images blending into the stroke-filled canvas.
The fourth part is marked by this The Glow of History series with its intention of containing an endless search of the ultimate modus operandi as he got by more intrinsic and traditional consciousness of art. The Glow of History however shows further manifestation of Kang’s work ethics in that there are more colors and brush strokes seem more diverse and unrestrained while the atmosphere as a whole seem less controlled.

 

Color-linearity and traditional folk-art images
The most striking feature of all is the clear division of screen, somewhat a radical composition considering his course of development in terms of style. One half of the screen divided vertically presents us with an abstract representative while the other seems to complete the storyline with traditional images of Korea, reminding us of the former and simultaneously allowing us to read through the storyline in a completed visual sentence.
What makes his unexpected death agonizing and tantalizing is the fact that he put himself on a more proper course of development towards finding the ultimate art world of his own.