Rude Dog Acrylic, on canvas_130x194cm_2010
Excrement of an Artist, Acrylic on paper_194x97cm_1999
A Leper in the Field, Pencil on paper_109.5x79.5cm_1990
Ahn Chang-hong, both in his own self and in his works, is a typical loner. Traces of wretchedness and splendour can be found alike in his paintings and the artist's obsessive interest in desertion and loneliness, alienation and anxiety, the bestiality of human character, fear and tragedy are displayed.
Through perverse and twisted portraits of himself and his family, An has already expressed his fear of and distance from the already torn-apart outside world. The fear that had made the eyes of the family members black and their mouths
wide open might yet be drawing a dark shade over his soul.
This dark aspect of An cannot wholly be admitted to his personal history or character.
It is often interpreted that the shades in our historical life, especially our gloomy social consciousness, that carries a weight with them, are reflected in his works. His method of representation, however, is far from being true to circumstances.
His inclination is more towards transforming reality into fables. In this transformation, An gives a dashing display of the fundamental tragedy of human character, the never-to-be-healed distortion in human character. This is the very reason I believe An Chang-hong is one artist whom we should cherish and remember.
Faces, Bodies, Souls, and a Life Story of One Artist
Ahn Chang-hong
