Kay Kang, Artist
San Francisco, California, USA

 
"Celadon HD"
Oil/Panel
18"x 18"
2004
 

"Celadon D-12"
Oil/panel
18" x 18"
2004

 

"Feather W"
Oil/Panel
12"x 36"
2004

 
"A Solitary Being"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
Four panels, each 96"x 24"
2003
 

"Untitled"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
48" x 72"
2002

 

"It's A Girl !!"
Acrylic/charcoal/rope/red peppers/door jams
82"x55"x70"
1999
 

The inspiration for my installation "It's A Girl !!", is from traditional Korean customs for announcing the birth of a new born baby. When a male is born charcoals and peppers are hung on a hemp rope, which is proudly attached to the front door of the home. When a female is born, only charcoal is hung on the hemp rope, for the birth of a girl was not met with the same congratulations as the birth of a boy. "It's A Girl !!" is a celebration of the birth of a girl, which has been neglected too often in Korean customs.


 

"Jungwhan" and "First Born Son Daughter" are a tribute to the numerous women that were given male names, in hopes that their mothers would bear sons instead of daughters. "Jungwhan" is composed of 576 indivisual pieces, each presenting one Korean female name written on charcoal. These names belong to the 576 women in my graduating class of Ewha Women's University. Of these 576 women, approximately 17 % posssess what are typically considered male names.

 


"Jungwhan(For the Girls)
Acrylic/charcoal/sand/wood
"48"x69"
2001


 

 
"First Born Son Daughter"
Acrylic/canvas
36"x 44"
2001

 
"Gateway"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/charcoal/sand/wood
45"x48"
2001
 

 
Excerpts from my father's 130 letters, received after I left Korea to study in the United states.

"The Conversation with My Father"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
54"x132"
1997


 
The "Waiting Room" was originally installed at the Insung Accupunture Clinic in Japan town, San Francisco. It was presented by the Korean American Museum in Los Angeles as Storefront Live Site-Specific Installations. The waiting room is where people wait for care and treatment, often with anxiety, fear or confusion but also with hope, faith and anticipation. For the Storefront Live Exhibit, I created a Korean text installation for the waiting room. The Korean medical texts are layered, repeating themselves as if echoing from some deeper place within the Korean psyche. The words should resonate on a very subtle and deeply personal level. My intention is to to use the power of art(the visual) to soothe the mind(the spiritual).
 

"Waiting Room"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
6'3" x 18'6"
1999

 


"New York, Sept. 11, 2001"
Acrylic/charcoal/sand/wood
12"x12"x3"
2001

 


"The Conversation with My Mother (Regret/No Regret)"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
42" x 54"
1998

 


"Sketch Book (For Sketch Book)"
Sumi ink/rice paper/acrylic/canvas
42" x 38"
2001

 

The Sketch Book series illustrates the artist's evolution, as she deconstructed formal calligraphic characters into pictograms. These unreadable ideas visually - ironically suggesting both the power and failure of language in communicating ideas.

       Kay Kang, Artist

 


Sketch Book, II
Oil on canvas
51" x 162"
1998

 


"A picture . . . a thousand words"
Oil/wood blocks
221 pieces each 5.5" x 7"

Born in Seoul, Korea, Kay Kang received her MA in printmaking from San Francisco State University and her BS in audio visual education from Ewha Women's University, Korea. Most recently she was invited for a career retrospective exhibition at SOMARTS Gallery in San Francisico. She is represented by San Francisco Museum of Modern Art Artist Gallery. Kay Kang's art can be found on line on the Asian American Women Artists Association website and amitmay.com. Her studio is at Hunters Point Shipyard and her phone number is (415) 822-1945. Email Kay Kang

Copyright Kay Kang, 2004, all rights reserved.

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