Meditations : History, Faith, Calling

“David Chang extracts from the ritualized strokes of traditional calligraphy the essence of each phrase. The result is a dynamic, layered, prophetic translation. His work possesses a truly organic, somewhat strange “fence-like” quality—establishing a firm boundary that both keeps you at bay and lures you to peek between the cracks—you sense that something lies behind these weathered boards and planks that first hit your eye as disordered bands of color and shadow. And what lies behind is an ordered dissection of time and place. There is nothing haphazard about Chang’s work. The outward appearance may mislead you, but only in the way a seemingly neglected fence encircles a beautifully manicured garden.

Perhaps what I find most striking (and a privilege to witness) about this phase of his body of work is that Chang continues to choose conversion—that is he makes the bold choice of eternity over time. With each progression his work becomes more personal, more autobiographical, and perhaps most of all, more confessional. For from a moment of doubt he sows faith, the fruit of which is the freedom to doubt. He reconciles. He strikes. His conversion deepens. He translates the universal language of sense and salvation into a distinct, individual, stroke. Yet there is no idolatry, no worship of self. No, instead Chang sanctifies and consecrates. The process is meditation, and the work, with all due respect, a byproduct of worship and prayer.” —Howard Hain

Onishi Gallery (October 13 – 27, 2011)