Hionas Gallery is pleased to present Undefined, an exhibition of new large-scale pastel drawings from Tun Ping Wang. This is Wang’s first show with Hionas, and is just the gallery’s fourth exhibition since opening to wide acclaim in June, 2011. Wang’s haunting portraits reflect the artist’s fascination with the imperfect beauty of faces, and how the emotions, experiences and mental states of his subjects are imposed by the viewer rather than the artist. In this regard, Wang’s exhibition is “undefined” up until the point when his drawings are looked upon and acquire new life through the viewer’s response.

Wang’s drawings evoke a near photographic quality, in which texture, light and contrast all intermingle for a hazy photorealist effect, and yet, each of his portraits exists at a resolution that no lens could capture. “My work focuses mostly on portraits and facial detailing,” says Wang. “I particularly enjoy seeing the way the ‘handcrafted’ likeness appears before your eyes, joined by specific unrealistic strokes and dots which become apparent only upon very careful viewing.”

Working on large, expansive surfaces, thus reinforcing the viewer’s focus on subjects’ faces, Wang sets out in his work to identify some form of undiscovered beauty, or at the very least, create one just below the surface, residing within gazes of melancholy, regret, and even madness. “Tun Ping Wang’s work is remarkable,” says David Kratz, President of the New York Academy of Art. “His over-sized portraits are as precise and detailed as they are expressive and compassionate. Most artists are good at one aspect or the other. Tun manages to combine both in a dynamic tension that completely entrances the viewer. I can’t get enough of them.”

About the Artist: Tun Ping Wang (b. 1984) is originally from Taipei, Taiwan. He began his studies at LimKokWing University of Technology in Malaysia, where he earned his AFA in Visual & Digital Arts. Following a move to the U.S. in 2004, Wang earned his BFA from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, MI, in 2008, and his MFA at the New York Academy of Art in 2011. His work is also included in the esteemed Howard Tullman Collection in Chicago, IL. This is Wang’s first solo exhibition. He lives and works in Long Island City, NY.