Hong Kyoungtack (b. 1968) has explored the theme of obsessive desires in modern life through everyday materials such as pens, pencils, and books. Additionally, he has opened up new possibilities in painting by traversing between design and painting, blending pop art and realism, while also achieving a universality that resonates with people.

Since the 1990s, Hong has experimented with his own unique style, influenced by pop art, geometric abstraction, and color-field painting, incorporating bold primary colors, contrasts in color, and rhythmic compositions. Alongside this, the artist has shown a keen interest in the surface and materiality of objects, particularly drawn to items like plastic cups and hair combs.

Hong Kyoungtack reflected on our lives through the materiality of plastic, which is disposable, light, and smooth. The society he encountered in his twenties was an era of extremes, where political despair and the dazzling allure of popular culture coexisted. Amidst this chaos, the artist began contemplating contrasts—lightness and heaviness, pleasure and pain, life and death—and these themes naturally emerged in his Still Life series.

In 2000, at his first solo exhibition, “Shrine,” held at Insa Art Space, Hong unveiled his well-known Pens series and Library series. Among them, the Pens series garnered significant attention in the global art market when it set a record for the highest auction price for a Korean contemporary artwork at Christie's in Hong Kong.
 
The everyday objects featured in the Pens series—such as pens and pencils—are depicted in vibrant, dense arrangements, bursting with explosive energy as if fountains are erupting or flowers are in full bloom. These ordinary items, rendered in large-scale, intricate compositions on canvas, become unfamiliar to the viewer, evoking a sense of abstraction. Hong describes the tightly packed structure, with no empty space, as 'an extreme expression of the compulsions derived from reality.’

One day, Hong noticed a pen cap adorned with an anonymous character among the many pens he had gathered for his artwork. This factory-made, nameless character led the artist to reflect on modern individuals, likening them to the anonymity of the character. From this, he introduced a new theme, ‘Anonymous,’ into his Pens series, addressing the duality and obsessive desires of contemporary life.

Another of his renowned works, the Library series, was inspired by Chaekado (책가도), a traditional Korean folk painting depicting bookshelves, which he stumbled upon by chance. In the Library series, Hong reinterprets the space of a library—where human history accumulates—in a modern context, embedding within it the conflicting and proliferating desires of contemporary individuals.
 
Among the series, Library 2 (1995-2001) is presented in the form of an altar. At the top is a depiction of Jesus Christ, followed by an image of Venus, and at the bottom shelf, a cake is illustrated. The artist saw religion, beauty, and pleasure as values historically revered by humanity and symbolically unfolded them within the space of the library, which represents the history of human civilization.

While religious icons and traditional painting motifs appeared in the Library series, pop culture icons began to infiltrate Hong Kyoungtack's Funkchestra series. This series visually embodies the impressions the artist received from popular music he enjoyed at the time. The title, Funkchestra, is a fusion of 'Funk,' a genre of popular music, and 'Orchestra,' a form of classical ensemble performance.
 
In these works, vivid fluorescent patterns arranged in symmetrical compositions evoke the hallucinatory energy and speed of funk music. These patterns are drawn from the imagery of modern urban landscapes, represented by MTV, nightclubs, and neon billboards.

Hong views the pop icons of our time, recognizable by name alone, as a form of modern mythology, placing them at the center of his paintings alongside religious icons. He also incorporates lyrics from pop songs, reflecting the spirit of the era, into his works. In this way, the Funkchestra series intertwines abstract patterns with realism, the sacred with the secular, high culture with popular culture, and painting with design. These works orchestrate the complex and multifaceted realities of contemporary life.

The Speaker box series, which can be seen as a counterpart to the Funkchestra series, also began as an extension of Hong Kyoungtack’s hobby of listening to music. This series, with its emphasis on geometric abstraction, was inspired by the artist's chance observation of the inside of a speaker. Upon removing the speaker grill, he noticed the variety of shapes within and transformed these into new patterns for his artwork. In Hong’s distinctive visual structure, the Speaker box fills the canvas with vibrant colors and intricate patterns, fully occupying the space with dynamic energy.

Unlike his previous works that expressed the desires and obsessions of modern society through the all-over painting composition that fills the entire canvas, the Monologue series depicts only a massive hand attempting to grasp something small, creating a heavier and more static atmosphere.
 
The giant hand in the works symbolizes the hand of an absolute being, one that no one has ever actually seen. This hand reaches toward fragile symbols, such as a butterfly representing delicate existence, or a skull symbolizing death. Hong explained, 'I wanted to portray the hand of an absolute being. The absolute we know exists at the boundary between good and evil.' Through the hand of the absolute, the Monologue series conveys a message about the spiritual world, life, and the essence of death.

In this way, Hong Kyoungtack’s paintings extend beyond the expression of desire through the lightness of everyday objects, encompassing works that speak to the diverse facets of life, including existence and death, religion and the secular. His work reflects a unique exploration of sensory perception in modern visual information, while grappling with themes of existence and duality.

”From religion to pornography, I want to depict the raw, unfiltered face of our time.”

Hong Kyoungtack studied painting at Kyungwon University and began to gain recognition with his first solo exhibition, “Shrine,” at Insa Art Space in 2000. Since then, he has held solo exhibitions at prestigious institutions both domestically and internationally, including DOOSAN Gallery New York, ARKO Art Center, and Gallery Hyundai. He has also participated in numerous group exhibitions including Alternative Space LOOP; Samsung Museum of Art, PLATEAU; Vyom Art Center in India; National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Gwacheon; Bochum Museum in Germany; Santral Istanbul Museum; and among others.
 
In 2013, the artist received the title of the youngest recipient of the 14th LEEINSUNG Art Prize. His works are held in several prominent collections, including the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art (Seoul), Samsung Leeum Museum of Art (Seoul), Ilmin Museum of Art (Seoul), DOOSAN Gallery (Seoul), and Amorepacific (Seoul).

References

• K-ARTIST.COM, 홍경택 (Hong Kyoungtack)
• 학고재갤러리, 홍경택 (Hakgojae Gallery, Hong Kyoungtack)
• 더 아트로, 홍경택 (The Artro, Hong Kyoungtack)
• 두산아트센터, 홍경택 – Pens (DOOSAN Art Center, Hong Kyoungtack – Pens)
• 국립현대미술관, 홍경택 | 훵케스트라 | 2001 – 2005 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA), Hong Kyoungtack | funkchestra | 2001 – 2005)
• 국립현대미술관, 홍경택 | 모놀로그 | 2012 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA), Hong Kyoungtack | Monologue | 2012)
• 국립현대미술관, MMCA 작가와의 대화 | 홍경택 작가 (National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art Korea (MMCA), MMCA Artist Talk | Hong Kyoungtack)