KWANG BUM JANG South-Korea, b. 1972

Biography
Kwang Bum Jang transforms painting into a sediment of time, where landscape, memory, and matter dissolve into surfaces of meditative depth.

Jang Kwang-Bum obtained his degree in Plastic Arts in Seoul and later, in order to switch from practice to theory, - a doctorate in aesthetic in Paris (where he has been living since 2007).

 

The artist lives and works between two worlds: Korean and Western. His works are linked with the monochrome movement of the Dansaekhwa, monochrome, abstract and contemplative. At the same time, he finds his inspiration in the impressionist paintings of Monet with the observation of the nature and the multiples variations of colour. He is obsessed with the idea of showing time and its flow; that leed him to the development of his technique of paintings : he first applies numerous layers of acrylic paint on the canvas and then continue meticulously applies sanding in order to remove the material. The marvellous final result is a tangible form of time which moves in front of the audience.

Works
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Montagne, 2025
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Montagne, 2025
    130H x 80 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Montagne
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Montagne
    120 x 80 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Montagne
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Montagne
    130 x 82 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Montagne
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Montagne
    117 x 90 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche
    70 x 50 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche
    70 x 50 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche
    120 x 81 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche
    195.5H x 130.5 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche
    120.5H x 80.5 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche Bleu
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche Bleu
    102H × 75 × 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Roche Rouge
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Roche Rouge
    120.5H x 80.5 x 4 cm
  • Kwang Bum Jang, Untitled
    Kwang Bum Jang
    Untitled
    65H × 55 × 5 cm
Overview
“I’m interested in the form of time, which is inscribed in all beings and in all things.” 
Kwang Bum Jang is a South Korean artist based in Paris, whose paintings emerge through the patient accumulation and sanding of acrylic layers. Moving between Korean monochrome traditions, landscape memory, and a highly tactile sense of time, his work turns surface into a field of quiet intensity.
Press
Exhibitions
Bibliography

2007 — Moves to Paris, a decisive shift that situates his practice between Korean and Western visual traditions. 

2012 — Solo exhibition Mur Liquide at the Korean Cultural Center, Paris.

2018 — Group exhibition Je (ux) est un autre at the Musée Français de la Carte à Jouer, Issy-les-Moulineaux.

2019 — Group exhibition Breaking Boundaries at the Korean Cultural Center, Washington, D.C.

2021 — Included in the Biennale de Paris.

2022 — Finalist, International Contemporary Art Competition.

2025 - Entry into the collections of the Musée Cernuschi