Kang Cho
1953-2021
Kang Cho, born in Seoul, South Korea, moved to Chicago as a teenager in 1969. Though Cho displayed a talent for painting from an early age, art was not considered a proper profession in South Korea, and he anticipated training as an engineer or scientist. However, Cho’s schoolteachers in America noticed that the athletic and intelligent boy was an exceptional artist. He received a full scholarship to the American Academy of Art in Chicago.
Cho moved to Denver in 1976, thanks to the encouragement and support of his friend and mentor, painter Bill Sharer. Cho became active in the Denver art community, and he credits the group for influencing his early convictions about art. Artist Ned Jacob, in particular, helped Cho refine his drawing and color techniques. Cho was fortunate in his early career, receiving immediate attention from galleries and collectors. His determination, discipline and dedication to his work led to his long-term success.
Cho’s work has received many awards, including the Elizabeth T. Greenshields Grant International Competition and the Anna Lee Stacey Scholarship Grant National Competition. He painted a wide range of subjects – moments in nature and expressions of the human form – with a focus on painting transitory moments he observed. Cho lived and painted in Santa Fe for several years, capturing the myriad colors and subtle light of New Mexico, before dying of Covid in December 2021.
