September 2nd - 15th, 2017

Opening reception: Saturday, September 2nd, 2017 6-8 p.m.

The Riverside Gallery is pleased to present Kairos and Spero, the first solo exhibition of works by South Korean artist Ung Boo Kang. The exhibition features a series of Ung Boo Kang’s abstract paintings inspired by the ancient Greek words kairos, meaning “moment of opportunity,” and spero, meaning “hope while still breathing.” Kang’s paintings reflect this philosophy that when time is used wisely, it empowers great change in the present and brings promise to the future, making the world prosper. Through his paintings, Kang also inspires mankind to challenge themselves in order to obtain their hopes and dreams. Kang’s earlier compositions mainly consist of a collection of sharp diagonal strokes created by different colors of oil paint markers on surfaces like paper, hardboards and foam boards. In his most recent works, Kang transitions to iron plate surfaces incorporating acrylic paint. The structures depicted on the iron plates become more linear as the textures of the paint become more apparent. Through his distinct approaches, Kang again reminds the viewers of the value of time. He makes them question: “Out of the vast amounts of time in one's life, how much is spent with real purpose, and how much is mindlessly thrown away?” As the structures also make the eye to move upwards, Kang’s paintings convey a message of hope. It presents the viewer with a glimpse of true human potential, that all of humanity is capable of reaching high for their dreams and striving continuously towards progress. Ung Boo Kang began his career as a designer of TBC-TV (Seoul, South Korea) in 1967. He soon became the head art and design director of the MBC-TV (Seoul, South Korea) in 1969 and remained in the position until 1993.