To gain a better understanding of recent Korean contemporary art, I studied
the Korea hyperrealism paintings, a style which started in the period of the
1970s-1980s. This article aims at putting in the position of Korea hyperrealism
painting in Korean art history, define its critical terms, and uncover its identity.
Most discussions of Korea hyperrealism painting have focused on figures and their
subject matter. However, these discussions are limited in that they did not clearly
identify Korea hyperrealism painting and extend the meaning of them. From this
point, It is significant that the double structure is defined by the interaction
between ‘figures’ expressed by a hyperelastic technique and ‘grounds’ which
strengthen the surfaces of the canvases. The figures in these artworks are painted
in great detail and derive from the artists’ personal experiences.
Therefore the double structure between the figures and the grounds in Korea
hyperrealism paintings has the two roles of creating illusionistic reality in the
frames of the canvas and thus emphasizing the objectivity of the actual canvas.
Therefore, the viewer gains a sense of reality in the figures on the frames of the
canvas while also observing the real object in the form of the canvas. This ironic
double structure consisting of virtual reality figures and the planar grounds of the
canvas mixes the figures and grounds exquisitely and creates interaction between
the surfaces and viewers, thus uncovering the identity of Korean hyperrealism
paintings.