Jaehong Ahn is a Korean/Canadian visual artist. While born 1979 in Pusan, S.Korea, he moved to Canada at the age of fifteen and studied fine art at the OCAD University in Toronto, during which he has participated in the Florence Off-Campus Program for Italian Renaissance and cultural studies. After finishing his thesis in Florence he, while based mostly in Toronto, has worked in and out of Canada. He has been honored as a winner of the international Elizabeth Greenshields Grant three times in 1998, 2002 and 2009. His works can be found in art collections in Germany, Canada, S.Korea and Italy. In 2012, he has participated in the Leipzig International Artist Residency program (L.I.A) In Leipzig, Germany by winning the International Residency Grant from the Ontario Arts Council (OAC). He currently lives and works in Berlin, Germany.
“Despite how it may appear to many spectators, I am not precisely inspired to create this series of works by the inner world of dreams nor the subconscious mind. Rather than reflecting the internal world exclusively, my paintings combine realism with contrasting irony and mystery in deliberate expressions of private experience. On top of the themes of divergence and confrontation that I insert into my paintings, I lay upon somewhat of an outer layer with emphasized realistic depictions for objects in rather unreal situations, followed by further layers of antagonistic relationships of any kind such as color, light/shadow, intentional/accidental and so on. This crisscrossed multi-layering of both visual and essential imbalances not only allow myself (as both a creator and a viewer), mild sarcasm and humour to find their own place within the frames, but more essentially, makes the worldview within these hypothesized dimensions more comprehensive and believable for the onlookers from across.
Regardless of the presence or absence of detectable tension or confrontation, observing the state of division with multiple perspectives is endlessly fascinating, presumably for the same reason that one is likely to feel more comfortable with situations that have multiple right answers instead of just one. Through being interpreted in various visual forms of ambiguities, the very notion of existence would hopefully receive enough rooms to dance in.”
Jaehong Ahn
Education
2002 – 2003 Florence Off-Campus Program Florence, Italy
Thesis Completion, Associate of OCAD
1998 – 2002 OCAD University, Toronto, ON
Drawing & Painting Major
Awards, Scholarships & Residencies
2012 L.I.A - Leipzig International Artist Residency Program Leipzig Germany
2012 Ontario Art Council International Residency Grant
2010 Toronto Outdoor Art Exhibition Best Figurative Paintings Award
2009 Elizabeth Greenshields Grant 3rd grant
2003 Eric Freifeld Award
2002 Eleanor Logan, Rose of Cedardale Award
2002 Elizabeth Greenshields Grant 2nd grant
1998 Elizabeth Greenshields Grant 1st grant
Selected Exhibitions & Projects
2019 Room Kara’s Gallery Seoul Korea
Union Art fair S-Factory Seoul Korea
2018 Union Art fair S-Factory Seoul Korea
2017 Tweet Your Postcard GR Contemporary Naples Italy
START Saatchi Gallery London UK
Union Art fair Insa 1 Gil Seoul Korea
2016 Caught Being Good Art Von Frei Gallery Berlin Germany
Summer Selection II Art Von Frei Gallery Berlin Germany
2015 Contemplation Gallery Ballery Berlin Germany
2014 SOLO-Replaced Windows Articsok Gallery Toronto Canada
Move On Gallerie Lee Berlin Germany
2013 Surrealists Articsok Gallery Toronto Canada
We all are Precious DMC Seoul South Korea
NordArt 2013 Kunstwerk Carlshütte Büdelsdorf Germany
2012 KUBOSHOW Flottmann-Hallen Herne Germany
IDENTITY KH-55 Leipzig Germany
Baumwollspinnerei Fruehlingsrundgang L.I.A Leipzig Germany
Winterrundgang L.I.A Leipzig Germany
2011 TOAE Award Winner Exhibition FCP Gallery Toronto Canada
2010 Toronto International Art Fair Toronto Canada
Toronto Outdoor Art Nathan Phillips Square Toronto Canada
Walnut Annual Space Walnut Toronto Canada
2009 Genesis McKay Art Center Markham Canada
Seven Deadly Sins Arta Gallery Toronto Canada
Aftershow Propeller Gallery Toronto Canada
Toronto Outdoor Art Toronto Canada
2007 Head and Shoulders Gallery S.P.I.N Toronto Canada
Yearbook Gallery S.P.I.N Toronto Canada
2006 Hello Dolly! Gallery S.P.I.N Toronto Canada
Commentaire Social Gallery Bertossini Toronto Canada
Toronto Outdoor Art Toronto Canada
New Paintings Gallery Neubacher Toronto Canada
Raw Space Gallery Bertossini Toronto Canada
2003 Go West LOOP Gallery Toronto Canada
Dentro dell'immaginazione OCADU Florence Firenze Italy
OCAD Grad Show OCAD University Toronto Canada