A Warm Welcome: A Retrospective of Paintings by Katharina J. Kang
Love and happiness are continuing themes in my paintings. From the time I started my art education in Korea, the subjects of flowers, sunsets, and family groupings carried these themes for me. Throughout my career, they demonstrate the close connection I have to my native culture—a culture that values strong family relationships amid natural beauty.
The translation of my forms from Korean roots to more European styles came about during my time studying art in Germany and then at the Academy of Fine Art in Rome, where I was granted the MA diploma. Most of my European influences are well-known modern painters--Marc Chagall, Henri Matisse, and Vincent Van Gogh. The faces in my paintings closely resemble those of Amadeo Modigliani, with a few basic strokes defining the features in a stylized manner. Viewers can more easily imagine their own family members or people they know in these works.
It is important that I bridge cultural gaps between Europe, Korea, and the United States, where I have lived since 1994. I embrace modern abstraction in oil painting techniques, but my themes make my finished works meaningful across continents and cultures. In addition to exhibits in Germany, Italy, Korea, and Japan, my works have also been exhibited and sold in North Carolina, Indiana, and Colorado. Over 24 exhibits were solo exhibitions of my work. I was also honored with several special invitational exhibits: one in 2003 to open the new gallery at Taylor University and another in 1997 to mark Ball State University’s Asian Awareness Week. In 2015, I hosted a Retrospective Exhibition at the Airforce Academy Art Gallery in Colorado Springs. Most recently, I had a solo exhibition in Paris, France in 2016.
I extend my happiness to viewers in this colorful collection of my paintings that shows how universal colors and open arms can be!
Katharina Jeong-Hwa Kang