A New Beginning Encountered in Minseok Kang’s Solo Exhibition “Red Line” at Gallery UP
- KangCar kangcar80@gmail.com
- Nov 11
- 3 min read
Minseok Kang’s solo exhibition “RED LINE: Beyond Time and Space” presents the most condensed expression of the speed and identity issues he has explored for many years. The term “red line” refers to the precise moment when a car reaches the limit of its engine’s revolutions—an instant that signals both danger and the threshold one must cross to move toward a new beginning. Kang transforms this fleeting mechanical state into an inner landscape, capturing the moment when identity wavers, fractures, and begins to reorganize through his painterly language.
At the center of this exhibition, the Endless Impact series visualizes two identities coexisting within Minseok Kang’s inner world, represented through the imagery of two automobiles. These two beings are not separate entities but different layers of the artist himself. Depending on the work, they appear as distinctly different forms or as silhouettes that closely resemble each other. This variability reveals that identity is not a single fixed line but a fluid structure that shifts with emotion, circumstance, and the passage of time. The scene of two cars accelerating outward from a single origin point represents not division but a process of expansion and acceptance. When their differences are acknowledged and embraced, another layer of the inner self emerges, and the artist records this movement through distorted speed and imagery. The refracted traces of motion and warped shapes across the canvas reflect the artist’s anxiety and uncertainty about the future, transforming them into visual forces that express a will to move forward through unstable time.
Reversed Boundary begins with the simple act of flipping the canvas, yet the exposed textures and hidden traces on the reverse side reveal how easily the boundary between inner consciousness and external reality can shift or overturn. This series presents an internal movement that flows in a different direction from the forceful momentum of Endless Impact. Instead of explosive energy, it quietly uncovers the layered structure of identity, exposing subtle tensions and fragile edges that exist beneath the surface.
The ice cream sculptures placed in one corner of the exhibition space may seem like a momentary pause within the tension of the paintings, but they serve as another narrative that reveals how vanished emotions and memories can condense and remain over time. These “unmelting” ice creams, created from leftover paint fragments, show how feelings and moments from the past continue to connect with the present, preserving traces of experiences that might otherwise have disappeared.
In the end, “RED LINE” is an exhibition about the internal movement required to cross one’s own limits. When identity wavers, when fear rises, and when the same self appears in differing forms, the artist pushes that boundary forward like a red line. The redline is not a warning but a point that signifies a new beginning, and this exhibition presents both the act of crossing that line and the expanded world that follows. As viewers trace the accelerating vehicles and trembling trajectories within the works, they naturally encounter the redline that exists within their own inner landscape.
Exhibition Title: RED LINE: Beyond Time and Space
Artist: Minseok Kang
Exhibition Period: November 11 – December 7, 2025(Closed on Mondays)
Venue: Gallery UP, B1, Unida Royal, 3 Gichal-ro, Buk-gu, Busan
Gallery UP operates as an unmanned gallery.During the exhibition period, visitors may view the exhibition at any time and, through a simple phone verification, can secure a focused viewing session within the space.
This exhibition is supported by the 2025 Busan Metropolitan City and Busan Cultural Foundation “Busan Arts Support Program.”
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