HyunAe Kang creates richly textured, kaleidoscopic abstract paintings that seek to invoke a sense of the divine. Kang describes her works as prayers and her practice as a meditative ritual. Kang paints by meticulously building layers of varying mediums; following the initial stratum of underpainting, she covers the canvas with layers upon layers of written prayers. These prayers are comprised of both texts written in her native Korean and symbols that she has developed as part of her own language of the Sacred. The prayers are composed by painting countless painstaking strokes of different colors, shapes, and sizes on top of one another in overlapping layers. Thus although the individual letters and glyphs become illegible—annihilated through the process of continuous superimposition—collectively they create a numinous effect, as though there is a deep resonance echoing from within the work. Although she has been associated with Dansaekhwa, an art movement from late twentieth century Korea characterized by monochromatic austerity and minimalist aesthetics, Kang represents a departure from the movement. While Dansaekhw artists seek to achieve clarity through reduction and elimination, Kang strives to express the power of the sublime by overwhelming the viewer with a profusion of color and texture.
HyunAeKang (b. 1959, South Korea) received her BFA and MFA from Ewha Womans University in Seoul. She has had numerous solo exhibitions in North America, Asia, and Europe, including at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center in Anaheim and Museo dei Bozzetti in Pietrasanta, Italy. She has also participated in countless group exhibitions and art fairs and has collaborated with corporations such as Volkswagon Korea and Aēsop Switzerland. Her works are included in institutions such as the Art Museum of Seoul, Brea Museum, Muzeo Museum, Suncheon Museum of Modern Art, and Ewha Womans University Museum. She is currently doing a residency at the Muzeo Museum and Cultural Center.