Chang Hyun Bang

I had an idea while scribbling my fingers on a fogged bathroom mirror or window glass. When wiping or scribbling on the mirror, the foggy view disappeared, and clear view came in. And I got to see my mind fogged up(stained or contaminated). It was anguish, anxiety, and distress. People say our heart is originally clean, but where did these emotions come from? My latest works were the result of finding the answers to the questions. Applying a mixture of clay and paint on the mirror and drawing shapes with a hand or tool on the thick material, the skin of the mirror is revealed and meets the material of the clay. In the process, the act of drawing an image is an act of erasing, and extinction soon returns to the language of creation. Therefore, creation relies on extinction, and extinction cannot exist without creation. Drawing is based on the principle of creation. Erasing is nothing short of a process of extinction. But my painting does not stay at the distinction between creation and extinction. Apart from the dualism that is comfortable like home, I tried to draw the scenery of the land of non-discrimination that seems contradictory. I'm going to the land of non-discrimination that I've never been to. But even this idea is a habit of discretion, I'm going to leave here too. I can't stay anywhere, so there's no home to stay. In general, paintings have intrinsic nature called Atman. It reveals its existence as a sustainable entity, whether figurative or abstract. However, my recent works aim to show a world of “no intrinsic self-entity” that changes over time and space by using a mirror object to destroy the world of Atman.

Born in S. Korea, Chang Hyun Bang is currently working as a professor at Kyunghee University and an artist. He studied English literature and ceramic art at Kyunghee University, continued master’s degree in ceramics from the State University of New York, New Paltz, and received his Ph.D. in art criticism at Kyunghee University. He has written about 50 critical essays and articles that were published in renowned journals and magazines such as Ceramic Art and Perception, Monthly Ceramic Art, and Journal of Korea Convergence Society. Recently his main concern is about Asakawa Takumi and Korean modern craft, the convergence between 3D printers and ceramic crafts, and Yanagi Muneyoshi and his non-dualistic beauty.

His works have been featured in renowned art magazines such as “American Art Collector” and “Ceramics: Art and Perception”. Bang has exhibited nationally and internationally in over 120 group shows and 10 solo shows, and participated in numerous art fairs such as ‘ST-Art Strasbourg Art Fair’, ‘Art Edition Hongkong’, ‘Asia Top Gallery Hotel Art Fair’, ‘Art Show Pusan’.