'Established an Independent Printmaking World' Gwangju Senior Printmaker Kang Haengbok Passes Away

[Asia Economy Honam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Yoon Jamin] Kang Haengbok, a veteran printmaking artist from the Gwangju area, passed away on the 7th at the age of 70.

According to the Gwangju Cultural Foundation on the 8th, the late artist, originally from Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, majored in Visual Design at the Department of Applied Arts at Hongik University. During his university years, he learned printmaking from Professor Yoo Gangryeol, a first-generation Korean printmaker.

After graduating from university, he worked at a design company but left the corporate life in 1987 and moved to Gwangju, where he continuously pursued printmaking for over 30 years.

In the early days of settling in Gwangju, Kang showed interest in Buddhist themes, traveling to temples nationwide including Honam, carving images such as pagodas, lotuses, and Buddha statues?iconography found in temples?onto woodblocks, thereby establishing a unique printmaking world that combined Seon Buddhism with his art.

Recently, through prolific output, he expanded the experimental scope of printmaking by creating various forms of book-type prints (book art), large-scale installations, and meditative abstract works. Since last year, he traveled between Seoul and Gwangju for medical treatment while holding significant exhibitions.

Notably, on the 4th, he participated in the invitational international print exhibition at Tongin Gallery in Insadong, Seoul, actively engaging in activities despite his illness, which made his sudden passing all the more tragic for acquaintances.

His works are held by major domestic museums such as the National Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art, Gwangju Museum of Art, and Jeonbuk Provincial Museum, as well as temples including the Central Buddhist Museum and Songgwangsa Cultural Heritage Museum, public institutions like Gwangju City and Nam-gu District, and the Korean Consulate General in Nagoya, Japan.

The funeral hall is set up at Seoul National University Hospital in Daehak-ro, Seoul, with the funeral scheduled for the 10th and the burial site at Rodem Park in Yongin.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.