Artist Ko Young-hoon is a critically acclaimed pioneer of hyperrealism in Korea who has blazed a trail in the art movement since the 1970s. Like other hyperrealists, he makes viewers stand in awe looking at his images of old book pages with stones placed on top, flowers or Buddhist head statues.



Overwhelmed by the high level of skill and photo-like paintings, it is hard to fathom the depth of his thoughts from 40 years of hyperrealist activities.



“I’m not copying an object. I’m creating a new object using the real object as a model. When I was painting a stone, which was my first object, I imagined creating a stone from scratch,” the 62-year-old said during a press preview of his solo exhibition titled “Homage to the Being” at Gana Art Center on Tuesday.



Artist Ko Young-hoon and his self-portrait. (Gana Art Center)



Painting objects as they look has provoked questions about authenticity and illusion. To prove that his paintings are not a mere false reality, he’s endeavored to search for the meaning behind the objects. He seemed to find the answer in his first solo exhibition held in eight years since his last in 2006.



“The illusion is the reality and it should be respected as a being,” wrote Ko in his artist note.



His philosophical thoughts spilled onto the canvas. He depicted the process of a ceramic jar disappearing. The flower-patterned jar seems to lose focus, becoming blurry, until the shape disappears into vague lines. The blurred images resemble abstract paintings rather than hyperrealism.



From left: “Pinks 1”, “Pinks 2”, “Pinks 3”, “Pinks 4” (Gana Art Center)