Light and life go hand in hand as far as the artist is concerned. It provides each object's color and shape, and was used by artists up to the nineteenth century to depict forms as realistically as possible. Before electric light was invented, natural light was rather symbolic or abstract; the advent of impressionism sparked interest in light itself.
Artist Kim Sung-ho presents nighttime scenes, city streets at dawn, and ports reflected by their waters. He draws our attention to the transformation of objects under artificial light once daylight has diminished. It therefore makes sense for him to focus on cities from dusk until dawn, rather than natural phenomena during the daytime.
Natural light is produced in two ways: it is generated by primary sources and reflected by secondary objects. However, the light in Kim's paintings is artificial, so while it emits light like the sun, it also enables other objects to reflect it. This form of light provides vigor to his dark buildings and streets, it emphasizes the frenetic pace of life, and it reveals objects' qualities that are invisible to us by day.
Kim adopts three approaches in his works. First, he employs bird's-eye views to capture nighttime cityscapes. In these his skies are typically painted in even, cobalt blue or gray. In contrast, the ground glitters flecks of streetlight. The brushstrokes seem to push their way out of the buildings' shadows, forming houselights, streets lamps and neon signs. At first glance these paintings evoke a sense of momentary motion wherever the viewer looks, as you might expect from impressionist works of art. However, after further deliberation, it is intriguingly clear that his paintings are abstract enough for us to question our first impressions. His work offers obvious landmarks while evoking abstract notions, both highlighted by the artist's bold and formative style.
His second approach presents the city's details: from the cars and buses that race down the streets at night (portrayed in impressionistic dots) to the street lamps and stores that light their locales, everything is brought to life by Kim's deft technique, and not without a little pathos. "Dawn: The Bank of Korea" is one of his most famous paintings, in which he invokes a sense of speed and vitality in the hectic green-gray nighttime streets. His confidence is evident in dynamic layouts and with assured brushstrokes.
Ports and riversides at nighttime are other favorite subjects of his. While he has admitted an interest in traveling and fishing, his main concern is the way by which he can express these places through a sea's or river's reflections. In these scenes the forms' colors fade and definitions blur, reminiscent of Monet's Giverny.
During the last 2 decades Kim Sung-ho has focused on nighttime cityscapes in which manmade light lends and defines their atmosphere. His exhibition gives us a wonderful opportunity to appreciate elaborate, refined works of art that combine light, dark, vitality and motion in arresting ways very different from daytime depictions. Just as poets use the pen to convey thoughts and emotions, Kim employs light to express, charm, and dazzle us with his unique brand of lyricism.
