“Rather than being Peter Pan hid in Neverland, it is closer to be a baby Nietzsche who discovered something important inside, rising above the worldly values.”
—— Junseok Kang
Junseok Kang’s oeuvre is inspired by his own imaginary ideals and the dreamy landscape of Jeju, where the artist has been calling home since the age of 20. Kang’s depictions often combine this familiar scenery and his mysterious and childlike characters, fusing natural settings and melancholic cartoon subjects, and thus blur the boundary of dream and reality.
In Two Dreams A and Two Dreams B, two canvases of pastel pink reveal the image of a dream that Kang recalls, presenting the two works in the format of a couplet that echoes one another. The haziness and flowy lines capture the fantastical and mesmerizing experience many people have in their dreams, and through soothing tones and soft brushstrokes, the artist invites the viewer to enter the depths the world of his vibrant imagination.
Born in 1984 in Busan, South Korea, Kang moved to Jeju Island that has become central to his creative process in 2014 and has lived and worked there since. Kang has shown work in numerous solo exhibitions, and most recent solo shows include My Mate in HK at Gallery Ascend, Hong Kong (26 March - 16 April 2022), and Ever Yours at LKIF Gallery, Seoul (7 August – 24 September 2022).