What is it that’s so mesmerizing about a breaking wave? Is is their power, their energy or the fact that no two will ever be alike? Pusan, Korea-born artist Kim Cogan explores the mystery surrounding waves in his unique set of oil paintings. When he first embarked on this series, back in 2010, he asked himself this question, “How can I capture and convey the hypnotic rhythms of the sea through painting?”
Cogan decided to challenge himself by painting inside oval panels instead of quadrilateral canvases. “Ovals mimic the cylindrical, free-flowing shape of the wave,” he said. “I wanted to design a unique approach to depict the waves on a surface that has no corners or straight edges.”
Though he was trained to work through observation, Cogan’s process involves looking at thousands of photos of waves to capture one singular moment of one breaking. Using sporadic brushstrokes, he paints their free-flowing motion. Cogan calls this beautiful series Sea Change.
