"Ætheric Portraiture" displays a cancellation of clear boundaries: facelessimages displace the viewer and lead him swing between colour and form,projection and perception.These compositions are in a constant flux: layers applied and removed, faces surfaced and disintegrated. An elusive gravity pervades thesepaintings, no eyes to hold the viewers' gaze, no distinction to outline skin, fabric and aether.
The artist is searching for wormholes, invoking ghosts of painting's traditionand its derivatives in movie. Ruben Pang tries to prolong the gaze in anage where images are consumed like fire and entire life's work of artists are distilled and uploaded at 60 frames per second.The remix culture of electronic musicians influenced this approach. Theseworks are an hive of memory: expressionism, formal abstraction and thebaroque come together as white noise and potential energy.
"He would acknowledge a two-dimensional vibe in the painting with aforceful leveling of the layers in reference to a Gerhardt Ritcher-esqueflatness. However, technique is the "salt and pepper" of the work, acondiment, it is ultimately the image that provides an insight into the innerworkings of this young artist."
Jim Amberson
