Featured image: Nine Plates - Plate V, Hung-Chi Chang, 2026, acrylic, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
Hung-Chi Chang’s Nine Plates series reexamines the tradition of still life painting through a contemporary and subtly surreal lens.
Hung-Chi Chang creates contemporary still lifes that merge organic realism with subtle surrealism, exploring themes of transformation, perception, and the ambiguity of natural forms.
In Plate I, Plate II, and Plate III, Chang presents carefully arranged organic forms, root vegetables, shells, fungi, and herbs, placed on stark white plates against richly textured, painterly backgrounds. While the compositions initially evoke classical still life, their unusual subject pairings and tactile surfaces introduce tension between nourishment and decay, familiarity and strangeness. These works operate as meditations on consumption, transformation, and the quiet symbolism embedded in everyday objects.
Nine Plates - Plate I, Hung-Chi Chang, 2026, acrylic, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
In Plate I, a central, irregular root vegetable anchors the composition, flanked by three dark, curled mushroom forms and a small sprig of greenery. The stark white plate isolates these elements, elevating them to objects of contemplation. Chang’s handling of texture is critical, the root’s rough, uneven surface contrasts with the smoother, almost fleshy quality of the mushrooms. The restrained arrangement suggests ritual rather than casual placement, evoking a sense of offering or specimen display. The background, layered with expressive brushwork in muted blues and earthy tones, destabilizes the scene, preventing it from settling into traditional still life calm. Instead, the painting feels suspended between nourishment and unease.
Nine Plates - Plate II, Hung-Chi Chang, 2026, acrylic, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
Plate II introduces a more dynamic composition, with a segmented, almost insect-like root form surrounded by scattered mushroom caps and leaves. The object’s elongated body and subtle anatomical suggestion push the image toward ambiguity, hovering between plant and organism. This ambiguity is reinforced by Chang’s meticulous rendering, which gives the form a tactile, almost animate presence. The circular plate again functions as a stage, but here the elements feel less composed and more dispersed, as if caught mid-transformation. The background’s warmer, mottled tones intensify the sense of organic flux, suggesting processes of growth, decay, and mutation rather than static display.
Nine Plates - Plate III, Hung-Chi Chang, 2026, acrylic, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.
In Plate III, Chang shifts the composition toward a more recognizable culinary arrangement while maintaining underlying tension. A large shell form rises behind a cluster of small, red, mushroom-like shapes, accompanied by a slender green herb. The shell’s ridged surface introduces a marine reference, contrasting with the terrestrial fungi and plant life. This convergence of ecosystems disrupts logical categorization, creating a hybridized still life that resists singular interpretation. The vibrant red cluster adds visual intensity, drawing attention to themes of consumption and abundance, while the shell looms as both protective structure and empty remnant. The painting balances aesthetic harmony with conceptual dissonance.
Across these three works, Hung-Chi Chang transforms the still life genre into a site of inquiry rather than mere representation. By juxtaposing organic forms that blur boundaries between plant, animal, and object, he challenges conventional associations with food, nature, and domesticity. The white plate becomes a neutral arena where these tensions are staged, while the expressive backgrounds disrupt any illusion of stability. Together, Nine Plates – Plate I, Plate II, and Plate III form a cohesive exploration of transformation, ambiguity, and the uneasy relationship between observation and interpretation.
Nine Plates - Plate IV, Hung-Chi Chang, 2026, acrylic, 12 x 12 in. / 30.48 x 30.48 cm.