(HACKENSACK, NJ) -- Painter and Professor Tai Woong Kang’s solo art exhibition Movement Recovery is on view at the Riverside Gallery in Hackensack from January 29th to February 12th. The exhibition consists of abstract paintings that explore the original state of humanity as harmony with nature and the cosmos, thereby exposing the fallacies of fast-paced modernity. 

Kang proposes the binary opposition between nature and modernity, and this oppositional relationship is linked to the experience of harmony and stress. Exploring these concepts, Kang simultaneously proposes the cure for the stressful life in modernity, which are his paintings dealing with harmony and the aspects of nature.

Using complementary and analogous color relationships, and applying those colors in a gestural way, Kang contemplates the universal concepts and relationships of Yin and Yang, as well as what is internal and external in relation to humanity and nature. Spending much of his time in nature away from the distractions of modern life, Kang brings the sense of harmony and rhythm of nature to his paintings, which attempt to restore the original state of humanity prior to its exposure to the superficiality of modern life. Kang’s paintings, which are acrylic on canvas, alternate between symmetric and asymmetric modes of composition, and they appear to signify a movement of energy or force that is stulted and results in a release of energy and stress. This release of stress allows for the viewer to attain greater harmony and oneness with nature, as the two are opposites of one another. 

An opening reception will be held on January 29th from 3:00pm to 6:00pm.

Tai Woong Kang was born in Seoul, South Korea. He received both his B.F.A. and M.F.A. from Chung-Ang University in 1986 and 1990. He immigrated to the United States in 1998. He received his M.A. from Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania in 2001 and worked as an artist based in New York. He has moved back to South Korea since 2012 and is currently a professor at Chung-Ang University College of Arts.

The Riverside Gallery is located at The Shops at Riverside (One Riverside Square #201) in Hackensack, New Jersey.  The gallery focuses on modern and contemporary art and exhibits works by emerging, mid-career, and established artists.  

IMAGE: Movement 2227 by Tai Woong Kang, 53x45.5cm, Acrylic on canvas, 2022