South Korean artist Jung Kwang Sik is internationally recognized for his masterful fusion of painting and sculpture, using slabs of granite to create extraordinarily detailed depictions of lush countrysides and serene coastlines. Native to South Korea and trained in Italy, Kwang Sik’s gift for sculpting vivid, three-dimensional vistas alludes to his background in stage design. His unique technique of carving and scratching beds of granite into scenic portrayals of valleys, streams, mountains and diminutive houses, which he then paints with acrylic, creates a complete and fluid vision of landscapes as one might see them from 30,000 feet. Emotional and poignant, Kwang Sik’s View 37 seems to capture the unsuspecting tranquility of a village just before a tsunami crashes on the shore. His brilliant use of color, light and shape keenly capture the motion of water and wind in nature.

Atlanta’s Bill Lowe Gallery will host the first ever exhibition of Kwang Sik’s work in the United States. Acclaimed throughout Korea and Southeast Asia, Kwang Sik’s mastery of stone carving has won recognition among critics and placement of his work in sculpture gardens in Turkey and Lebanon. Taeman Choi, former director of Korea’s Busan Biennale, said of Kwang Sik, “His works contain the scenery and that’s why his works remind you of natural scenery when you look at them. If the stone plates were not colored, they could be thought of as scenery in the beginning of world.” Jung has expressed the desire to capture the ebb and flow, the eternal and the universal rhythm of the relationship between man and our world.

Excited to experience his first American exhibition, Jung Kwang Sik will be in Atlanta and available for interviews beginning Thursday, May 12, 2011. Contact Alex Delotch Davis to schedule.