FEATURE
10
Painting Spring for Us: Kang Namgu
Space: Life Force 3 (2020).
By Kang Jennis Hyun-suk
www.gwangjunewsgic.com
March 2021
H
ow do you realize that spring is coming? The warm air, the haze, or a ticklish scent of flowers? Yes, I agree that spring comes with flowers. The news of spring’s coming is delivered by the East Asian plum tree (maehwa, 매화). It blooms when the world is still white. The plum tree has two virtues. Its blossoms draw spring to the hearts and minds of the ice-cold souls who have endured the freezing winter. Another of its virtues is the sweetness of the scent it gives us. When spring comes, I enjoy plum blossom tea. You can pour warm water in your teacup and float a couple of plum blossom petals in it. It provides you with the taste of early spring. The Gwangju Museum of Art in Unam-dong has a cultural center in it. The museum opens diverse art classes for the citizens of Gwangju – including lessons in pottery, water painting, oil painting, calligraphy, and croquis – and I am one of the beneficiaries, as I have been learning oil painting at the museum. Last year, COVID-19 prevented us from learning for a while, but classes restarted recently under strict safety conditions. Our oil painting class is led by Kang Namgu. Yes, he is my painting teacher. A few years ago, my friends and I decided to do something to make our lives more exciting. We discovered that there were a lot of art classes offered by the museum and so
2021�03��(March)_1.indd 10
enrolled in the oil painting class. Because we all loved the thickness of expression in paintings like Van Gogh’s matière. For several years, I have had many opportunities to see Kang’s exhibitions. I think Kang is an artist who can paint the virtues of the plum tree. His paintings of them are powerful: The tree trunk is like a dragon twisting up into the air. Standing in front of his paintings, I can imagine the scent of the blossoms beyond the purple mist. That is why some people call him the Messenger of the Spring.
Visiting Kang’s Studio
I recently visited Kang at his studio on Art Street (예술의 거리) in downtown Gwangju. When I asked him about the history of his paintings for the Gwangju News, he took out his exhibition booklets from his bookshelf and told me about the changes in his style over the past few decades. It was a precious time to hear from the artist about his works. This is how our discussion progressed. Jennis: A few years ago, I saw some of your artwork at your exhibition in the Yangnim Museum of Art. The pieces were quite different from your recent paintings. Kang Namgu: During my master’s course at Chosun University, I was fascinated by the world of nonfigurative, abstract artworks. It is not that difficult to open
2/26/2021 12:14:06 PM
