Autumn Scene

A pioneering woman artist, Chang switched her career from theatrical performances to art in 1948, and started a long journey exploring ink in Hong Kong and then in San Francisco. She studied under renowned Lingnan artists and spent years imitating first traditional and then modern styles. This atmospheric painting depicts a fishing village during the misty morning after an autumn rain. Chang was excited by the drama of the weather and wanted to convey a palpable sense of wetness. She created the effect of a shapeless mass of vapor with forms dissolving in dew and fog by combining variations of dots and cuts. A dense forest of firs covers more than half the painting. The handful of boats anchored at shore and the mottled red and yellow cluster of houses in the center give us a sense that this place is indeed an ideal harbor for a peaceful life.