Like New York Artist Mark Rothko, Wang’s aim is to evoke states of mind & simply through the physical presence of the paint. Unlike Rothko, however, Wang deliberately sets out – to offer an opportunity for the viewer to stop and meditate upon the numinous and the emotional.
Prior to even starting Wang prepares the canvas through applying numerous layers of gesso, sanding in between each layer to arrive at a smooth surface. Working slowly to build up the depth of Wang’s surfaces through careful glazing an old technique employed by the Baroque masters - Resulting in an unbroken surface which can be tuned to reflect a glow from any one of the many layers of light & shades.
Not uncommon for Wang’s large- scale colorist abstractions of which require enormous discipline as some are worked on for over one year & as Australian art Critic David Bromfield summarize perfectly, “If Rothko polished the world with icy emptiness, Annie Hsiao-Wen Wang tunes it to melodic perfection.”