BIOGRAPHY

Ehja Kang (born in 1960 in Seoul) is a Korean-American artist recognized for her abstract paintings. As the youngest of four children, she grew up with supportive parents from North and South Korea, who nurtured her artistic passion from the age of six. Kang studied Oriental Painting at Chookye Art School in Seoul and began expanding her studies of Contemporary Painting at Moorpark College after immigrating to the United States with her husband in 1985.

A pivotal moment in Kang’s career was meeting Lydia Takeshita in 1997. As a pioneering art professor, critic, and owner of several galleries in Southern California, Takeshita dedicated her life to cultivating generations of artists. For twenty years, she visited Kang’s studio monthly, providing rigorous critiques and invaluable guidance. Her mentorship was crucial in refining Kang’s techniques, exploring new artistic territories, and shaping the trajectory of her career.

Color is the most important aspect of Kang’s work. She seamlessly merges traditional Korean concepts with modern techniques, including layering paints and rice papers, dripping, squeegeeing, and her distinctive cracking method— a technique she developed over a decade of experimenting with various permutations of unconventional ingredients. Her unique cracking method allows her to control every aspect of the cracks, from the size and shape of each cracked piece to levels of depth and glossiness, contributing to the textured and layered complexity of her pieces.

Kang’s art is deeply influenced by the concept of "yeo-baek" (여백), or white space, a cornerstone of traditional Oriental Painting and a concept that eventually became the foundation of her later monochromatic painting series. For Kang, white space is not merely an empty area but a powerful element that facilitates balance and harmony. This principle of balance and harmony is vividly expressed through her use of colors, organic shapes, and layered textures.

Her work has been showcased in twelve solo exhibitions and numerous group exhibitions across the United States and internationally. Kang continues to paint from her studio in Northridge, where she has worked for 30 years. She resides with her husband in Porter Ranch, California, and is the proud mother of two children—her daughter is an academic, and her son works in finance.

ARTIST STATEMENT

As a Seoul-born American abstract artist, my work is shaped by my experiences growing up in post-war South Korea during a time of rapid development and transformation. From a young age, I found solace and inspiration in art, a passion nurtured by my supportive parents, especially my North Korea-born father. After studying Oriental Painting in Seoul, I immigrated to the United States in 1985, where I encountered a vastly different environment that challenged my artistic approach. This transition from realism to abstraction became a necessary evolution, allowing me to distill and reinterpret the essence of our shared world and lived experiences through the visual language of abstraction.

A pivotal moment in my career was meeting the late Lydia Takeshita in 1997, a figure whose influence on my work cannot be overstated. For half a century, Lydia Takeshita was a pioneering figure in the Southern California art world as a renowned art professor, art critic, and owner of several galleries, devoting her life to supporting and cultivating generations of artists around the world. For twenty years, she visited my studio monthly, offering rigorous critiques and invaluable direction for my work. Her mentorship was instrumental in refining my techniques, pushing me to explore new artistic territories, and shaping the trajectory of my career.

The central elements of my art are colors, textures, layers, and my cracking technique. My approach to colors is deeply personal, as I create my own unique hues to create wide spectrums of colors. My cracking method, which is based on a secret formula I developed over a decade, allows me to control the size, shape, depth and glossiness of each crack.  The layers are formed through a combination of transparent, translucent, and opaque paints and rice papers, and are the result of spontaneous instincts that drive the creative process.

The "Inscape" series comprise paintings that reflect the inner landscapes of my thoughts and emotions.  In this series, I layer translucent and transparent colors and rice papers to create mysterious effects on canvas, integrating vibrant colors with the disciplined use of space. The force of my spontaneous instincts as a driving force for my work is particularly evident in this series. Each piece is guided by intuition, allowing the work to evolve organically and capture the raw essence of my thoughts and emotions. This spontaneous approach is central to my creative process, leading to a dynamic exploration of color, texture, and form. 

The "Blues" series represents a transitional phase in my artistic journey, serving as a bridge from the "Inscape" series to my current monochromatic work. It reflects a period of deep introspection and exploration of color, capturing the emotional depth and complexity of the color blue. This series highlights the wide spectrum of emotions that blue can evoke.

The Oriental Painting concept and power of "yeo-baek" (여백), or white space, is particularly evident in my "Taemong   (태몽) series" inspired by a dream during my first pregnancy. This series explores traditional Korean themes through the abstraction of life-giving rice and water. 

The "Contemplation Series" represents the culmination of decades of artistic exploration and experimentation. In this series, I translate the colors I envision during meditation onto the canvas, each hue becoming a protagonist in its own wide spectrum of colors. By emphasizing the use of these unique colors and my distinctive cracking process, I create layers of intricate, cracked terrain on the canvas.

The concept of balance and harmony is reflected visually in both my paintings and also characterizes my creative process. I begin each piece with a prayerful, meditative mindset, which provides a foundation of calm and clarity. From this centered space, I enter a spontaneous, passionate flow state where my ideas burst forth in vivid explosions of creativity. Through this process, I take elements of visual vocabulary and principles and bring them to life on canvas. This interplay between deliberate intention and spontaneous expression is at the heart of my practice, enabling me to venture into new artistic realms and challenge the limits of my work.

My work involves a symbiotic relationship between the evolving piece and myself—a push and pull dynamic. Sometimes this interaction is harmonious, like two partners dancing a waltz; other times, it is fraught with tension, as both the process and I vie for control. This all-consuming dynamic mirrors my flow state, where spontaneous instincts and ideas overwhelm me, driving my creative process. Influences such as Wassily Kandinsky, Helen Frankenthaler, and Georgia O’Keeffe have been instrumental in shaping my artistic vision.

My art offers a visual retreat, inviting viewers to pause, reflect, and find connection in the quiet spaces of our shared human experience. After six decades devoted to my passion, I remain committed to sharing my work with audiences across the United States and around the world in the years to come.