A man drinks at a "colored" water cooler in a streetcar terminal in Oklahoma City, July 1939. (Photo by Reuters/Library of Congress)

An Indian woman smeared in colors dances during Holi festival in Mumbai, India, Monday, March 29, 2021. (Photo by Rajanish Kakade/AP Photo)

People enjoy the color run in Guangzhou, Guangdong province of China on May 29, 2022. (Photo by Stringer/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

A Puffing Billy steam train hauled by locomotive 14A crosses the Monbulk Creek trestle after leaving Belgrave station near Melbourne, October 20, 2014. While the discovery of steam power 200 years ago powered the Industrial Revolution, the world long ago shunted most steam trains onto the sidings of history. (Photo by Jason Reed/Reuters)

Karl Bang's paintings are unique because he combines totally different styles of painting within the same format. It is very difficult to design a balanced composition with realistic elements that are juxtaposed with flat colors and patterns. The faces of his subjects are painted realistically in the Western tradition with subtle gradations of color; while, his figures and costumes vignette into abstracted shapes, lines, flat colors and patterns that reflect Karl's background in China. It is as though there are different visual languages being spoken within his paintings.

An Indian couple stained with colored powder enjoys a loving moment during the Holi festival celebrations in Chennai, India, 18 March 2022. Holi, also known as the “Festival Of Colors” is an ancient Indian Hindu festival symbolizing the victory of good over evil and marking the arrival of spring. It is held with joyful gatherings during which revelers cover each other in colored powders. (Photo by Idrees Mohammed/EPA/EFE)