DALI

Dali (Lot 129) is a signature painting from the Korean artist Kang Hyung-Koo, who has built a reputation for his mesmerizing hyper realistic portraits. Kang's portraits serve to extract mutual dialogues with the viewer and also himself through his subject's profound gaze. His eyes are so full of emotion that they become the core expressionism in extracting the great artist’s profoundly introverted soul. Kang Hyung-Koo reincarnates Salvador Dali within the grand scale of his canvas, most definitely making the presence known, hence bestowing a sense of existence of life again to the character, intimidating and captivating viewers in a spell of his majestic presence.

Be they artists or celebrities from the past or the present, Kang Hyung-Koo always reveal an obscure side of the subjects. He preserves the recognizable facial features of these characters. However, during the course of painting, the artist transplants his own spirit onto the figure. The painting becomes a medium in which the artist communicates with these famed individuals from the past. The result is a work that appears to be both familiar and uncanny at the same time. Painted in mysterious green colour, Dali’s face is flaunted against the pure white background. His skin is profusely creased as his long life of experiences is woven into the reverberating texture of the echoing space of his face. The meticulous record of his withered skin stem a sense of swaying magnetism of awe and repel.