Faces in Flux: Abstract Portraits in Thick Layers of Paint by KwangHo Shin

We first featured KwangHo Shin’s expressive portrait paintings a few years ago, and his work looks just as striking today. Inspired by the energy of Abstract Expressionism and Action Painting, the artist works with oil paint and charcoal to create portraits that shift constantly between recognizable figures and near-total abstraction.

In his work, thick slabs of pigment accumulate across foreheads, cheeks and eyes. Some faces remain relatively clear beneath the layers, while others almost disappear into heavy impasto or broad horizontal strokes. Loose charcoal lines occasionally extend beyond the painted areas, sketching out shoulders and clothing while leaving parts of the canvas deliberately exposed. At their most heavily worked, the portraits feel sculptural, as if each face has been assembled from fragments of paint.

For Shin, that distortion is closely tied to the complexity of human emotion. Instead of portraying an exact likeness, he uses each portrait to explore the less visible parts of identity, allowing expressions to emerge and dissolve beneath restless layers of color. That approach gives his pieces a raw physicality, placing the turmoil beneath the surface directly onto the canvas.

For more of KwangHo Shin’s powerful portraits, check out our previous feature here and visit his portfolio.

More art on the grid via Behance