Dahye Jang / Artist Name: Jang Koal
Born in 1989 in Ulsan, South Korea. After she graduated from Animation high school in 2007 she moved to Seoul to pursue a career in fine arts. Jang’s work evolved from figurative art into her signature art style. Blending cartoon-like forms with Eastern painting techniques, Jang Koal produces enticing narratives populated by a host of daring female characters. Although she has a background in illustration work, Koal started out in painting and employs age-old techniques, using multiple layers of paint on traditional Korean paper, Hanji.
Cat-like eyes, strong lashes, bright red lips and pale white skin are trademark features of Koal’s powerful figures, the protagonists in a world where exploration and discovery are key. As the artist herself explains, “losing one’s sense of curiosity and the will to discover something new is even scarier than the unknown.”
Jang Koal was part of the Popland 1.0 (2020) and 2.0 Exhibition (2021).
