b.1979 in Gangneung, South Korea, lives and works in Gangneung, South Korea
Shine Kong’s paintings possess a tactile quality—small yet structurally intricate. Her brushstrokes are never excessive or lacking; they maintain a sense of order and composure, reflecting the fact that they follow a world her hands have already touched. The dual process of physical embodiment and painterly representation prevents her work from veering into abstraction or uncontrolled emotional turbulence. Every piece undergoes a form of tactile curation, a preemptive balance of structure and sensation.
The scale of Shine Kong’s paintings aligns precisely with this manual craftsmanship. Her sense of space and texture emerges from this approach, and her brushwork moves within the comfort of familiarity, much like a traveler navigating a well-known landscape. This is the key to the warmth and humanity in her work. It stands in stark contrast to the often cold, detached precision of photorealists who replicate photographic images.