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Dickens Chang
The Waiting Game

1987

About the Item

Dickens Chang Born 1948 He designed posters for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Chang was born in Honan, his name was Zhang Jianguo before he came to the United States. The following is from an article in the Los Angeles Times tells the story of this exceptional artist, published January 4, 1999: Consider the pressures of a name: Call your child Patience and she can never be hurried; choose Joy and she can never be sad. But imagine the pressure if your name is Jianguo, Chinese for “establishing a country.” So it’s no wonder that Dickens Chang, born Zhang Jianguo, sees himself as an artistic ambassador, a painter on a mission to blend centuries of Eastern tradition with the newer techniques of the West.“The Eastern hemisphere and the Western hemisphere eventually will come together,” Chang said. At 50, he is predicting a revolution in his own style that will represent that cultural fusion. “Eventually,” he said, “it’s going to be a territory or a kingdom that nobody has ever been to before.” Ventura and New York are Chang’s bi-coastal bases for his crusade. Having just returned to Ventura after 10 years in the Big Apple, however, Chang has no interest in erasing that divide. “This is so quaint,” he said recently. “It’s so comfortable, this place.” Born in China, raised in Taiwan and educated in California, Chang moved to Ventura in 1980, renovated a Victorian house on Ash Street and began making a name for himself in the Southern California art world. He designed a series of posters for the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles. Needing to stake his claim among big-time artists, Chang bought a New York City loft in 1987. Shortly after his move, the stock market plummet and ensuing recession crippled New York’s art market. Chang continued to sell his art, but had to cast a wider net for buyers. Now remarried and the father of two young children, Chang returned to Ventura a year ago to find “all the connections are still intact. . . . Nothing changes.” The friends he left a decade ago have the same phone numbers. They work the same jobs, in a town that Chang thinks has “all the ingredients of a great city.” But Ventura’s charming consistency has its drawbacks, he says. “As far as I’m concerned,” Chang said, “this is still too small a place for an artist to be spiritually satisfied.” So after settling his family here, Chang will spend most of his time in New York, where he believes the stimulation and pressures created by other artists will spur him to pursue his mission. His paintings of the last year reflect the cultural combination he is working toward. Voluptuous nudes, updates of European masters, dance in oil-painted contortions that suggest feathery Chinese characters. Mongolian mustangs race across a field in a scene resembling the American West. “Chang is original in the sense that he’s got an approach which is designed to build a bridge,” said Hans Schroeder, a Palm Springs art dealer who has represented Chang on the West Coast for 15 years. “He’s trying to bridge a cultural gap between China and the Western painting traditions.” Specifically, Chang is trying to convert Asian artists, especially Chinese, from the East’s strict instructional methods in watercolor that he shunned to develop his own Western style in oil. In doing so, Chang hopes to introduce more Asian artists to the Western market. And he hopes that Western art, including his own, will gain appeal across the Pacific. “In the past I had no desire at all to have my pieces shown there,” Chang said. But now dealers in Taiwan and Hong Kong have noticed him, and he is frantically preparing for a one-man exhibit next October at the National Museum of Fine Arts in Beijing. “It’s probably going to be the most important thing happening in my life, that exhibit,” Chang said. “But I’m quite nervous right now because I don’t see any progress, too much of the domestic stuff.” Chang has been distracted by moving his family to Ventura and opening a shop downtown, Timeless Beauty, with his wife, Wuping. Meanwhile, Schroeder reports, dealers and collectors are waiting for the artist to produce. Chang’s paintings have fetched as much as $120,000 on the secondary art market, and Schroeder said he recently sold several for $10,000 each. At Timeless Beauty, Wuping Chang displays some of his smaller paintings, most of which sell for $1,850, and his bronze sculptures, most of which he did in the late 1970s. Within Chang’s far-flung network of collectors are several locals, most of them friends since his first arrival in Ventura. “He will only do originals, which I appreciate,” said Steven Snyder, a Ventura property manager who has six of Chang’s paintings. “A lot of the artists, they’ll do an original and they’ll do all kinds of prints, which saturates the market with their work.” Snyder, who has collected Chang’s paintings since meeting him in 1989, said he has noticed a change in his friend’s art since Chang’s remarriage and the births of his children, now 5 and 2. Before, Snyder said, Chang’s work was full of anger and dark colors. “Lately the colors have gotten brighter and the pictures, the paintings, have gotten more upbeat,” he said. But Chang expects that optimism and benevolence will take a dark turn soon. For his upcoming exhibit in China, he is struggling to document a 1995 trip to India and all its misery, pungent smells and the rigid caste system of Hinduism. “It’s been three years, and I’m still working on it,” he said. The challenge for Chang--on top of producing enough paintings for a show 10 months from now--is not to portray India only as an impoverished culture. “If I only depict the beggars and the suffering, I’ve missed the point,” he said. “This is going to be my contribution, and this is going to be what I’m going to leave to the world, and I don’t want to portray it in the wrong way.” Previous trips--to China, including Tibet, and Mongolia, among other places--have not posed such difficulty. With degrees in journalism, Chang meticulously documents his travels with notes, photographs and sketches, which he uses to create a series of paintings. “When I’m traveling, I’m quite observant,” he said. And “the more I travel, the more appealing Ventura seems to be.”
  • Creator:
    Dickens Chang (1948, American)
  • Creation Year:
    1987
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 24 in (60.96 cm)
  • More Editions & Sizes:
    30 x 24Price: $2,750
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Los Angeles, CA
  • Reference Number:
    1stDibs: LU3913961922
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When he was discharged in 1946, he remained in Southern California, living in the Los Angeles area. He met a man named Larry Torres and they formed a partnership to do silk screen work primarily for the Colby Poster Printing Company. This lasted about 10 years until the Colby building caught fire and burned down. In 1958, Max began working for Slade Novelty company that made doll parts using a product called plastisol. A year later, Max began producing plastic parts through his own business. One day, a couple of kids brought in a shrunken skull they had made and asked Max if he could reproduce it. Max said he could and he looked around for a business to work with for this task. He ultimately decided he could create his own machine shop to make molds. As a result, Max purchased a lathe, drill press, grinder and other tools to create his own machine shop and went into business making molds. He built a clientele and in 1973, he moved his machine shop to Glendale, California. Painter, Sculptor, Teacher and Author: Max recalls the day when his interest in art took a new direction. He happened to be in a paint store to purchase some supplies when he saw a card posted on a wall that read, "Come paint with Connie Marlo". Max had been interested in art since his youth and he was frequently impressed with paintings displayed by local artists at various community events. Consequently, he decided to go to Connie's Saturday morning art class at a studio on North La Brea Avenue (between Sunset and Hollywood) in Los Angeles. But, as fate would have it, he immediately took a detour from this class when he found a piece of paper on the floor of the studio referencing another art class dealing with compositions, patterns, rhythms and color harmony. The instructor's name was Hal Reed, a former art student of the Russian/American Master, Nicolai Fechin. Hal owned the building (previously the Will Foster Studio) and had founded the Art League of Los Angeles. When Max found Hal, he asked Hal if he could join his class. Hal said "No, the class was full" but he said Max could monitor the class in the back of the classroom. Max took him up on the offer and began observing the weekly class. During the class, Hal told his students that they should practice what they were learning by going to "live model" classes. Max began attending these classes where he learned how to draw figures. After a few months, Hal and Max became good friends. Hal was so impressed with Max's work that he offered Max the opportunity to teach at another location that Hal was opening in the San Fernando Valley. Max accepted the offer and began teaching his own art class. For Max, it was a quick jump from learning to teaching. Max then found that several of his students had to commute to his art class from the west end of the "Valley". To better serve this group of students, Max decided to relocate to another studio in Calabasas. Max continued teaching, and at this time he was producing very impressive portraits, both oil paintings and charcoal drawings from live models (Max never worked from photos). Max demonstrated real talent, and the style of his drawings and paintings were being compared to those of Nicolai Fechin. And, like Fechin, Max also had an interest in sculpting. One day, Max decided to design and cast a bronze owl sculpture to put in his Calabasas Fine Art Gallery. Later, someone approached Max when he was at the foundry and asked him about his success selling the owl sculpture. The individual who asked this question was convinced that there was a broader market for these sculptures and he ordered a dozen of the owl sculptures from Max. This encouraged Max to do more castings. Some of the new castings were antique sculptures he found and reproduced. As this new business grew, he decided to establish his own foundry, employing up to 15 workers. The business continued for many years, up until the late 1990's when Max got tired of the foundry business and sold it. Max, who was now in his 70's, decided to move on to his next venture as an artist, dedicating himself to doing the actual sculpting of original art. He loved the creativity of sculpting and he had his sculptures cast at local foundries, ironically the same ones that used to be his competition. Max was now fully engaged in his new artistic direction and, over time, he produced a large body of work. He created very impressive sculptures, including about 100 full-size sculptures. He sold some of these to high-end clientele, the Foundry at SLS Las Vegas, and to Hollywood studios. Even though Max now seemed to be totally in his element, he somehow also found time to continue to teach painting classes at the California Art Institute in Westlake Village in Los Angeles. At the institute, he specialized in figure work. Max continued to draw, paint and teach, but he says he stopped sculpting when he turned 90. Max produced four books showcasing his drawings and paintings. The first is "Faces, The Drawings of Max Turner", copyright 2000, that showcases nearly 100 of his portrait drawings. Within the "Acknowledgements" section, he lists Hal Reed and Joseph Nordmann, two former students of Nicolai Fechin. In 2006, Max produced his second book titled "Figures and Faces", reflecting not only portraits but also figure drawings and paintings. It is a wonderful book of Max's work, but it is currently difficult to find. The third book is titled "Faces 2, The Paintings and Drawings of Max Turner", copyright 2009, which includes 75 portrait paintings and drawings. In the "Preface" of this book, Max describes growing up in a small and isolated mining town during the Great Depression. He states that as a kid, he had little exposure of any culture or view of what the rest of the world was like. His neighbor was the trash collector and Max would sometimes go through his truck looking for anything of value. Among other things, he found magazines like Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Red Book, with covers that frequently showed drawings or paintings of faces. Max states that these images were the very first source of inspiration for him. He says that he began looking more carefully at people's faces and if they had character, he would draw them. By drawing them, Max says that he was making them part of his world, his world of "Faces". In 2018, Max published his newest book showcasing his drawings and paintings. It is titled "Max Turner's Figure Sketches". This softbound book includes 76 pages and over 120 drawings and paintings. In the Introduction, Max explains "I have found that when approaching the figure, one should begin with the gesture. After having captured the essence or feeling of the pose, one can then proceed to build on it." The figure sketches in this wonderful book reflect a Master's work that consistently captures the "gesture"-showing the emotion, movement and expression. Two more books are on the horizon for Max, both dealing with his passion for sculpting. His first, "The Sculpture of Max Turner" is a compilation of his commercial and noncommercial pieces throughout his career. The second, "Terra Cotta Sculpture by Max Turner" is a complete collection of figures done at the California Art Institute. These much anticipated books should be out later in 2018. Max now considers himself primarily a sculptor. But others in the art world are more than impressed with his drawings and paintings as well. His portraits are often described as having a Fechin-esque appearance, referring to the style of Nicolai Fechin. When Max observed those first art classes given by Hal Reed, it should be noted that Hal had previously been a student of the Russian/American Master Nicolai Fechin in the early to mid-1950's. In fact, Hal was a student in the last art class that Fechin taught before he unexpectedly died in 1955. Hal was so strongly influenced by Fechin that he later produced two 30-minute art instruction videos as part his Art Video Productions wherein he specifically described Fechin techniques that he learned in Fechin's class. The Fechin style and techniques were in play when Max later met Hal. Over the years, many of Max's art students, art collectors, gallery owners, as well as the Director of the Monterey Museum of Art have commented on the Fechin-esque qualities of Max's wonderful charcoal drawings and paintings. So, while Max may consider himself primarily a sculptor, his drawings and paintings are also impressive and very much sought after. When Nicolai Fechin died in 1955, three of the nine students in his last art class became life-long friends. Max subsequently became friends with not only Hal Reed, but also with prior Fechin students Joseph Nordmann and Albert Londraville...
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When he was discharged in 1946, he remained in Southern California, living in the Los Angeles area. He met a man named Larry Torres and they formed a partnership to do silk screen work primarily for the Colby Poster Printing Company. This lasted about 10 years until the Colby building caught fire and burned down. In 1958, Max began working for Slade Novelty company that made doll parts using a product called plastisol. A year later, Max began producing plastic parts through his own business. One day, a couple of kids brought in a shrunken skull they had made and asked Max if he could reproduce it. Max said he could and he looked around for a business to work with for this task. He ultimately decided he could create his own machine shop to make molds. As a result, Max purchased a lathe, drill press, grinder and other tools to create his own machine shop and went into business making molds. He built a clientele and in 1973, he moved his machine shop to Glendale, California. Painter, Sculptor, Teacher and Author: Max recalls the day when his interest in art took a new direction. He happened to be in a paint store to purchase some supplies when he saw a card posted on a wall that read, "Come paint with Connie Marlo". Max had been interested in art since his youth and he was frequently impressed with paintings displayed by local artists at various community events. Consequently, he decided to go to Connie's Saturday morning art class at a studio on North La Brea Avenue (between Sunset and Hollywood) in Los Angeles. But, as fate would have it, he immediately took a detour from this class when he found a piece of paper on the floor of the studio referencing another art class dealing with compositions, patterns, rhythms and color harmony. The instructor's name was Hal Reed, a former art student of the Russian/American Master, Nicolai Fechin. Hal owned the building (previously the Will Foster Studio) and had founded the Art League of Los Angeles. When Max found Hal, he asked Hal if he could join his class. Hal said "No, the class was full" but he said Max could monitor the class in the back of the classroom. Max took him up on the offer and began observing the weekly class. During the class, Hal told his students that they should practice what they were learning by going to "live model" classes. Max began attending these classes where he learned how to draw figures. After a few months, Hal and Max became good friends. Hal was so impressed with Max's work that he offered Max the opportunity to teach at another location that Hal was opening in the San Fernando Valley. Max accepted the offer and began teaching his own art class. For Max, it was a quick jump from learning to teaching. Max then found that several of his students had to commute to his art class from the west end of the "Valley". To better serve this group of students, Max decided to relocate to another studio in Calabasas. Max continued teaching, and at this time he was producing very impressive portraits, both oil paintings and charcoal drawings from live models (Max never worked from photos). Max demonstrated real talent, and the style of his drawings and paintings were being compared to those of Nicolai Fechin. And, like Fechin, Max also had an interest in sculpting. One day, Max decided to design and cast a bronze owl sculpture to put in his Calabasas Fine Art Gallery. Later, someone approached Max when he was at the foundry and asked him about his success selling the owl sculpture. The individual who asked this question was convinced that there was a broader market for these sculptures and he ordered a dozen of the owl sculptures from Max. This encouraged Max to do more castings. Some of the new castings were antique sculptures he found and reproduced. As this new business grew, he decided to establish his own foundry, employing up to 15 workers. The business continued for many years, up until the late 1990's when Max got tired of the foundry business and sold it. Max, who was now in his 70's, decided to move on to his next venture as an artist, dedicating himself to doing the actual sculpting of original art. He loved the creativity of sculpting and he had his sculptures cast at local foundries, ironically the same ones that used to be his competition. Max was now fully engaged in his new artistic direction and, over time, he produced a large body of work. He created very impressive sculptures, including about 100 full-size sculptures. He sold some of these to high-end clientele, the Foundry at SLS Las Vegas, and to Hollywood studios. Even though Max now seemed to be totally in his element, he somehow also found time to continue to teach painting classes at the California Art Institute in Westlake Village in Los Angeles. At the institute, he specialized in figure work. Max continued to draw, paint and teach, but he says he stopped sculpting when he turned 90. Max produced four books showcasing his drawings and paintings. The first is "Faces, The Drawings of Max Turner", copyright 2000, that showcases nearly 100 of his portrait drawings. Within the "Acknowledgements" section, he lists Hal Reed and Joseph Nordmann, two former students of Nicolai Fechin. In 2006, Max produced his second book titled "Figures and Faces", reflecting not only portraits but also figure drawings and paintings. It is a wonderful book of Max's work, but it is currently difficult to find. The third book is titled "Faces 2, The Paintings and Drawings of Max Turner", copyright 2009, which includes 75 portrait paintings and drawings. In the "Preface" of this book, Max describes growing up in a small and isolated mining town during the Great Depression. He states that as a kid, he had little exposure of any culture or view of what the rest of the world was like. His neighbor was the trash collector and Max would sometimes go through his truck looking for anything of value. Among other things, he found magazines like Cosmopolitan, Good Housekeeping and Red Book, with covers that frequently showed drawings or paintings of faces. Max states that these images were the very first source of inspiration for him. He says that he began looking more carefully at people's faces and if they had character, he would draw them. By drawing them, Max says that he was making them part of his world, his world of "Faces". In 2018, Max published his newest book showcasing his drawings and paintings. It is titled "Max Turner's Figure Sketches". This softbound book includes 76 pages and over 120 drawings and paintings. In the Introduction, Max explains "I have found that when approaching the figure, one should begin with the gesture. After having captured the essence or feeling of the pose, one can then proceed to build on it." The figure sketches in this wonderful book reflect a Master's work that consistently captures the "gesture"-showing the emotion, movement and expression. Two more books are on the horizon for Max, both dealing with his passion for sculpting. His first, "The Sculpture of Max Turner" is a compilation of his commercial and noncommercial pieces throughout his career. The second, "Terra Cotta Sculpture by Max Turner" is a complete collection of figures done at the California Art Institute. These much anticipated books should be out later in 2018. Max now considers himself primarily a sculptor. But others in the art world are more than impressed with his drawings and paintings as well. His portraits are often described as having a Fechin-esque appearance, referring to the style of Nicolai Fechin. When Max observed those first art classes given by Hal Reed, it should be noted that Hal had previously been a student of the Russian/American Master Nicolai Fechin in the early to mid-1950's. In fact, Hal was a student in the last art class that Fechin taught before he unexpectedly died in 1955. Hal was so strongly influenced by Fechin that he later produced two 30-minute art instruction videos as part his Art Video Productions wherein he specifically described Fechin techniques that he learned in Fechin's class. The Fechin style and techniques were in play when Max later met Hal. Over the years, many of Max's art students, art collectors, gallery owners, as well as the Director of the Monterey Museum of Art have commented on the Fechin-esque qualities of Max's wonderful charcoal drawings and paintings. So, while Max may consider himself primarily a sculptor, his drawings and paintings are also impressive and very much sought after. When Nicolai Fechin died in 1955, three of the nine students in his last art class became life-long friends. Max subsequently became friends with not only Hal Reed, but also with prior Fechin students Joseph Nordmann and Albert Londraville...
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