Piled On Oil Paints

The paintings of Korean artist KwangHo Shin are most certainly portraits.  Though they depart from many of the elements of typical portraits they’re instantly recognizable as such.  Shin uses charcoal to build the underlying structure, parts resembling hair, neck, shoulders, and ears.  The faces aren’t so much painted as formed by gobs of oi paint.  Hints of facial features such as eyes and noses may be ambiguously implied in each piece.  However, its really the inner person Shin is after, the echoes of which linger for a moment on the face.

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