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Chan-ru
Chang and Dr. Dennis Golden,
President of Fontbonne University
By Victor Wang
Professor, Fontbonne University
When faced with the choice between realistic or abstract style, Chan-ru
Chang chose the latter. She reveals that her passion is in abstract shapes and colors, which always seems to fascinate her more than the style of storytelling.
Chan-ru Chang's works first strike the viewers' eyes with pure, abstract, geometric forms in square compositions. It reminds me of "Color-Field" paintings, which experiments with the use of flat areas or fields of colors to induce contemplation in the beholder - even to a pitch of mystic intensity. Her works resemble those of Mondrian, Diebenkorn, and Reinhardt, who use grids and color patches on oppressive and rigid square formats. Chan-ru
Chang, however, tries to bring a spark of change to enliven this stiff composition by playing with color intensities and the richness of application with opaque and transparent pigment. She works very instinctively by utilizing memories, sights and imaginations from her mind's eye to create mystery squares, and as she calls them "windows". Perhaps, these squares are the windows to her heart or the existing windows that reminisce memories and experiences from her past. The evoking windows and journeys take her through her works both physically and psychologically.
There are several pieces in Chan-ru Chang's exhibition, which invites viewers to an unconcluded meditation. The beauty and allure of the paint surface with rich resonance and enigmatic layers has become increasingly important to chan-ru
Chang in her latest works.
Chan-ru Chang graduated with a MFA degree from Fontbonne University in 2001. "Viewfinder" at the Fontbonne University Gallery of Art from June 28 to July 18 is her first one-person show.
It is difficult to represent adequately on paper the subtle beauty of Chan-ru Chang's colors. They are finely tuned, aesthetically complete objects in which color, form, and surface texture work together to create an almost oriental, deeply meditative form of balanced quiet.
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