2026 Kong Sung-hwan Solo Exhibition <Ripple>

WHY VISIT

On Kong Sung-hwan's canvas, water appears clear and transparent, yet it is an object that can never be fully captured. His paintings are abstract works emerging through his sensations and thoughts rather than realistic depictions. Light settling on the water's surface vibrates finely, waves spread like invisible breath, and shapes within the transparent depth seem to reveal themselves before receding again. Observing these moments of subtle change for a long time, the artist translates natural landscapes into a single sensation. The 'abstraction' spoken of by artist Kong Sung-hwan does not mean an abstraction where forms disappear, but rather a state where the concreteness of reality is converted into sensation, rhythm, light, and vibration through the process of gazing at the water before his eyes for a long time. In his canvas, abstraction is not the absence of form, but a process in which form shakes and transitions into another sensation. Therefore, Kong Sung-hwan's water appears realistic, yet quietly flows into abstraction within. It is another landscape starting at the end of what is visible, an inner ripple revealed through the surface of water.