I am especially interested in making and unmaking meaning with the combination of word and image — particularly in this age of digital communication. Incorporating contemporary events and pop culture, I collect daily newspapers in English and Chinese, cut specific text, graphics and articles, and put them in categories. I also gather postproduction material from local ad agencies. Influenced by artists like Kline, Pollock, and Rauschenberg, my calligraphic strokes commingle with expressive brushwork and drips, and the freedom of such abstract artists allows me to explore Chinese characters in a personal, reinvigorated way — connecting to and balancing vital energy. The cross-cultural exchange mediated in my creative process continues to unfold and push beyond duality. In merging the beauty of traditional painting technique, modernist performance-like gestures, as well as typography and imagery, I am forging an art that both creates and expresses my self.  Embracing the chaos, or ran, I stand hopefully poised between ambivalent remembrance and undetermined tomorrow. 

Born and raised in Shanghai, China. John Chang is an artist based in Southern California. John’s works have been widely exhibited, including, Alexander Brest Museum at Jacksonville University, Togonon Fine Art Gallery, San Francisco, CA. 212 Gallery, Aspen, CO. Fresh Paint Art Gallery at Culver City, CA. Chang’s work has been featured in various publications such as Pasadena Star News, KTLA, Cerise Press and Art In America. John Chang is a recipient Spring 2011 Working Art Grant from Working Artist Organization.

John Chang holds an MFA in Visual Art from The Art Institute of Boston. He also earned a BA in Decorative Arts and Design from Shanghai Light Industry College. He also studied with the well know Chinese artist Xu Bing.

www.JohnYChang.net