Aproject Company, committed to globalizing Korean art, is delighted to announce a solo exhibition featuring Hong Kyoungtack, a representative artist of post-2000s contemporary Korean painting.

Aproject Company operates two online art platforms. K-ARTIST.COM serves as an archive and art market platform for Korean artists to venture into the global art sphere. Meanwhile, K-ARTNOW.COM is a platform that delivers news and information about contemporary Korean art to the world.

This exhibition takes place in Seoul after a gap of 9 years since Hong Kyoungtack's solo exhibition at Perigee Gallery in 2014. The exhibition will showcase approximately 30 major artworks, ranging from the early 1990s to representative pieces from the recent "Pens," "Library," and "Funkchestra" series. Since making his debut with his first solo exhibition "Shrine" at Insa Art Space in 2000, Hong Kyoungtack has been gaining recognition as a prominent contemporary painter representing Korea.

Particularly, in 2007, Hong Kyoungtack achieved a groundbreaking auction price of approximately 780 million KRW (about 600,000 USD) at a Hong Kong Christie's auction, becoming the first Korean artist to attain such a remarkable record. With this accomplishment, he solidified his position as a representative artist of Korea in the global art market.

In response to this situation and the growing global interest in Korean culture and arts, Aproject Company has organized a special lecture on the theme of "Global Expansion Strategies for Korean Art" and an exposition exploring Hong Kyoungtack's artistic realm.

Furthermore, in celebration of this exhibition and the upcoming KIAF & Frieze Seoul, we have planned a special opening event and after-party. We invite art experts, artists, collectors, and art enthusiasts who are interested in Hong Kyoungtack's work to join us. We look forward to seeing you at the opening & after party.

‘Pen’ Series

Hong Kyoungtack's pen may seem lightweight as it is an everyday object. Still, the artist addresses the dual and obsessive desires through the allusion to skulls and dolls in the form of pen caps, the dense screen composition, and the seriousness of the weight of the writing.

〈Pens 3〉 is a magnum opus created over 10 years. The pens that radiate from the center of the flowers take the form of leaves and fill the canvas. The flowers and pens, which seem to spill out of the canvas, have the vitality of living flowers that attract butterflies and seem to multiply indefinitely by becoming part of other flowers. The sharp and colorful pens and nibs, which look like they could explode at any moment, reflect the desires of modern people and show the artist's extreme expression.

‘Library’ Series

The 'Library' series is inspired by late Joseon bookshelves. The seemingly enclosed bookshelves are filled with plastic, smooth-textured books, solitary figures, and traditional paintings. By transforming the space of a reclusive monk into a modernized one, the artist incorporates the conflicting and multiplying desires of modern people.

〈Library 3〉 is an early work from the beginning of the 'Library' series. I began the 'Study' series after being fascinated by the modern elements I found in Joseon bookstore paintings. This work was created for six years and shows the artist's extreme sophistication and almost paranoid integrity. The work is characterized by the depiction of an enclosed space, with bookshelves densely packed and stacked. The stack of books in the center forms the altar of a temple, with a variety of still lifes around and on top of it, along with other religiously themed objects.

‘Funkchestra’ Series

The series of works titled 'Funkchestra,' a portmanteau of the words Funk and orchestra exemplifies the artist's evolving oeuvre, which intersects color and black and white, pattern (abstract) and realism, sex and nature, closure and eruption, high culture and popular culture, painting and design, religion and pornography.

The work is based on a portrait of the late Impressionist painter Van Gogh, which is combined with the formatives used in the 'Funkchestra' series. The artist interprets the various shapes and colors in the artist's work, which he admires, with his technique. In particular, this masterpiece uses thick oil paint on the star-shaped figures surrounding the portrait to express the unique brushstrokes of the artist.