Kang Minseok Contemporary Abstract Painting “TIMELEAP XVI” – Acrylic on Canvas Now Available on Artsper
- KangCar kangcar80@gmail.com
- 3 days ago
- 2 min read
The work can be viewed at the following link:
TIMELEAP XVI encapsulates Kang Minseok’s long-standing exploration of time, speed, and psychological pressure within the language of contemporary abstract painting.
From a dark vertical axis at the center of the canvas, intense linear trajectories burst outward. These lines are not simple representations of motion; they suggest a rupture in time itself—an explosive expansion from a single point of tension. The composition conveys acceleration, yet what unfolds is not a literal scene but a conceptual space where temporal layers collide.
The red forms cutting across the surface resemble distorted afterimages of automobiles. In Kang’s artistic universe, however, the automobile is never merely an object. It functions as a surrogate for the self—an embodiment of identity navigating the pressures of speed and expectation. The elongated and fragmented shapes reveal both the fracture and expansion of identity under acceleration.
Color plays a structural role. The dynamic interplay of green, white, and red against the dark axis generates a heightened sense of velocity. Time is not depicted as a linear progression but as a field of collision and perpetual expansion. The painting visualizes a psychological condition approaching near-light speed—where anxiety, aspiration, discipline, and desire intersect.
Kang Minseok employs acrylic paint pushed and scraped with a squeegee to physically inscribe movement into the surface. The act of dragging and compressing paint becomes a performative attempt to grasp fleeting moments. Each layer leaves behind a temporal trace, creating overlapping durations embedded within the canvas.
Although the painting evokes the intensity of a race, it does not depict competition in a literal sense. Instead, it portrays an internal race—an inward acceleration shaped by confrontation with one’s own limits. Speed is transformed from an external measure of superiority into an inner pressure to transcend constraint.
TIMELEAP XVI is not a frozen image; it is a cross-section of time. Past afterimages and future possibilities coexist within its eruptive chromatic energy. The tense linear structure and expanding color field articulate Kang Minseok’s artistic identity: a sustained commitment to forward momentum and a persistent will to break through self-imposed boundaries.
Through its release on Artsper, the work now enters a wider contemporary art dialogue—encountered anew through each viewer’s perception.
What kind of speed defines the time we are living in today?
Artist: Kang Minseok
Year: 2024
Size: 72.6 x 50cm
Medium: Acrylic on Canvas
Genre: Contemporary Abstract Painting
Explores the pressure of time and the sensation of speed
Visualizes a temporal rupture expanding from a central axis
Distorted automobile forms function as a metaphor for identity under acceleration
Uses squeegee scraping technique to layer and compress temporal traces
Depicts an internal psychological race, not a literal competition
Represents a cross-section of past afterimages and future possibilities
Expresses Kang Minseok’s sustained inquiry into self-confrontation and forward momentum
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