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Lot Essay
Tang Chang, also known as Chang Sae-tang, is one of Thailand’s first abstract artists. His work showcases the development of abstraction, rejecting the usual painting style for his own unique ‘poetry-drawings’ - a reinterpretation of Thai poetry that repeats words with different patterns and shapes. He relied heavily on his practice of Buddhist meditation for their production.
From practices on a small sheet of paper to prolific drawings, Untitled is a distinctive work by Tang Chang from 1960s, it marks an important transition to international exhibition during the artist’s career.
Chang was born to ethnically Chinese immigrants. Growing up in Bangkok, Thailand, he left school around the age of ten and worked as a portrait artist. Entirely self-trained, he taught himself to paint portraits on the street. With very limited resources, his early-stage works were drawn in charcoal on small sheets of paper. Then in the late 1950s, he rejected realistic images to experiment with the abstract. He stopped using brush and converted to using his body together with his fingers, hands, and arms - the “poem-drawing” style is considered gestural and calligraphic. He also practiced sketching on paper and was obssessed with repeated lines, shapes, and abstract strokes.
As the son of Chinese immigrants, his study of Buddhism and Chinese philosophy was composed into the paintings. He begins with a single-minded concentration when he mixes the paint known as ekaggata (the meditative action of his painting). He explains, ‘I forget even the noise of the roaming ice cream peddler who comes by everyday. I forget even the contact of my own feet on the ground.’ (T. Chang, quoted in O. Cacchione (ed.), Tang Chang: The Painting That Is Painted with Poetry Is Profoundly Beautiful, Chicago 2018, p. 5).
Chang trained in the tradition of Thai Forest Buddhism and dhamma, inspiring him to use painting as Buddhist meditation. His earliest poems were on small sheets of paper, then they turned into more elaborate shapes that take up more space. His style later on would loosen from control of brushes to become fully nonrepresentational. He relied on his hands, fingers, and arms to make sprawling, curving lines on the canvas, resulting in gestural and calligraphic painting. Inspired by Chinese culture and tradition, his technique is similar to Chinese traditional painting where lines are created quickly and represent feelings, while at the same time looking at the broad picture showing an abstraction.
Chang’s vision was to hold his art as a life mission by speaking of Chinese philosophy, languages, and tradition using the concepts of dharma and nature. Untitled reveals the knowledge and experience in Chang’s vision: a pure form of distinct lines and color. Lines are seen as fast movement with the usage of his brushstrokes. Chang observed in his journal, ‘the painting that is painted with poetry is profoundly beautiful.’ (T. Chang, quoted in O. Cacchione (ed.), Tang Chang: The Painting That Is Painted with Poetry Is Profoundly Beautiful, Chicago 2018, p. 6). Chang uses his feelings to set the painting composition. It is direct, with no confusion, no hesitation, reflecting Buddhist meditation. His choice of using black is because it is true to nature. The purpose is to reflect the fact that ‘every paint once mixed is black’ and ‘the true color of every natural paint is black.’
Within a single work, Chang experiments with combining different types of lines and strokes into distinct planes or fields. The strokes allude to both Thai script and Chinese characters. He turns anything around him - the fields outside his house, daily life, society, and politics into lines, blocks to capture moments in time. Responding to the shift of Thai politics and societal change, these references show through the calligraphy, poetry, colors, movement, and brushstrokes.
Later in the late 1960s, Chang began to draw poems in reference to the world around him. In writings throughout his life, he uses repeating, simple words to create patterns and shapes around his canvas. Tang Chang has never sold his work as he believed his submissions would be rejected. When he passed away, all his artwork was left in his studio and had never been shown in public spaces. Later on, his family displayed his works in a small private museum in his house. Chang’s paintings were created during a transition from local showing in Thailand to international exhibitions in Singapore and Malaysia. Chang’s Untitled will be the first painting in any auction.
From practices on a small sheet of paper to prolific drawings, Untitled is a distinctive work by Tang Chang from 1960s, it marks an important transition to international exhibition during the artist’s career.
Chang was born to ethnically Chinese immigrants. Growing up in Bangkok, Thailand, he left school around the age of ten and worked as a portrait artist. Entirely self-trained, he taught himself to paint portraits on the street. With very limited resources, his early-stage works were drawn in charcoal on small sheets of paper. Then in the late 1950s, he rejected realistic images to experiment with the abstract. He stopped using brush and converted to using his body together with his fingers, hands, and arms - the “poem-drawing” style is considered gestural and calligraphic. He also practiced sketching on paper and was obssessed with repeated lines, shapes, and abstract strokes.
As the son of Chinese immigrants, his study of Buddhism and Chinese philosophy was composed into the paintings. He begins with a single-minded concentration when he mixes the paint known as ekaggata (the meditative action of his painting). He explains, ‘I forget even the noise of the roaming ice cream peddler who comes by everyday. I forget even the contact of my own feet on the ground.’ (T. Chang, quoted in O. Cacchione (ed.), Tang Chang: The Painting That Is Painted with Poetry Is Profoundly Beautiful, Chicago 2018, p. 5).
Chang trained in the tradition of Thai Forest Buddhism and dhamma, inspiring him to use painting as Buddhist meditation. His earliest poems were on small sheets of paper, then they turned into more elaborate shapes that take up more space. His style later on would loosen from control of brushes to become fully nonrepresentational. He relied on his hands, fingers, and arms to make sprawling, curving lines on the canvas, resulting in gestural and calligraphic painting. Inspired by Chinese culture and tradition, his technique is similar to Chinese traditional painting where lines are created quickly and represent feelings, while at the same time looking at the broad picture showing an abstraction.
Chang’s vision was to hold his art as a life mission by speaking of Chinese philosophy, languages, and tradition using the concepts of dharma and nature. Untitled reveals the knowledge and experience in Chang’s vision: a pure form of distinct lines and color. Lines are seen as fast movement with the usage of his brushstrokes. Chang observed in his journal, ‘the painting that is painted with poetry is profoundly beautiful.’ (T. Chang, quoted in O. Cacchione (ed.), Tang Chang: The Painting That Is Painted with Poetry Is Profoundly Beautiful, Chicago 2018, p. 6). Chang uses his feelings to set the painting composition. It is direct, with no confusion, no hesitation, reflecting Buddhist meditation. His choice of using black is because it is true to nature. The purpose is to reflect the fact that ‘every paint once mixed is black’ and ‘the true color of every natural paint is black.’
Within a single work, Chang experiments with combining different types of lines and strokes into distinct planes or fields. The strokes allude to both Thai script and Chinese characters. He turns anything around him - the fields outside his house, daily life, society, and politics into lines, blocks to capture moments in time. Responding to the shift of Thai politics and societal change, these references show through the calligraphy, poetry, colors, movement, and brushstrokes.
Later in the late 1960s, Chang began to draw poems in reference to the world around him. In writings throughout his life, he uses repeating, simple words to create patterns and shapes around his canvas. Tang Chang has never sold his work as he believed his submissions would be rejected. When he passed away, all his artwork was left in his studio and had never been shown in public spaces. Later on, his family displayed his works in a small private museum in his house. Chang’s paintings were created during a transition from local showing in Thailand to international exhibitions in Singapore and Malaysia. Chang’s Untitled will be the first painting in any auction.