An illuminated Grangemouth Oil Refinery emits smoke on March 29, 2012 in Grangemouth, Scotland. Government ministers appear to have caused sporadic panic buying of fuel after suggesting that motorists should store petrol in jerry cans at home. Tanker divers have announced that they will strike over pay and conditions, although they have not yet given a date. (Photo by Jeff J. Mitchell/Getty Images)

Sunset is seen through smoke from the Wallow fire June 8, 2011 in Springerville, Arizona. Hundreds of thousands of acres have burned in eastern Arizona prompting evacuations by residents. Smoke loomed over the twin towns of Eager and Springerville, home to about 7,000 people north of the fire. (Photo by Eric Thayer/Getty Images)

A plume of smoke rises above Gaza City as Israeli air strikes hit on August 18, 2011 in Gaza City, Gaza. The airstrikes came hours after attacks by militants killing Israelis in a cross border operation near Eilat, Southern Israel. (Photo by Christopher Furlong/Getty Images)

This Sunday, September 7, 2014 photo provided by Rachel Kirk shows smoke from a fire rising above Little Yosemite Valley near Yosemite National Park, Calif. (Photo by Rachel Kirk/AP Photo)

This photo taken on March 3, 2020 shows a tattooed Chin ethnic woman smoking at her house decorated with animal skulls in a village of Chin State, western Myanmar. (Photo by Sai Aung Main/AFP Photo)

A man smokes a marijuana cigarette to celebrate 420, in Times Square amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic in New York City, New York, U.S., April 20, 2021. (Photo by Carlo Allegri/Reuters)

A man observes the smoke from the zone where fuel storage tanks exploded near Cuba's supertanker port in Matanzas, Cuba on August 9, 2022. (Photo by Alexandre Meneghini/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.