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.

A woman, with her face covered with colored powders, dances during the Holi Festival of Colors in Lisbon, Sunday, September 15 2013. The festival, which is mainly celebrated during the Hindu spring festival Holi in some regions of India and Nepal, has become popular among people in other communities. (Photo by Francisco Seco/AP Photo)

Climate change activists dressed up as black birds protest in St. Ives, on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Cornwall, Britain, June 11, 2021. (Photo by Dylan Martinez/Reuters)

A robin perches on a spade handle in a garden on a rainy day in Lixwm, north Wales. Researchers said this week that when European robins are subjected to human-produced noise, their behaviour changes. (Photo by DGDImages/Alamy Live News)

The Invasion. A quiet street in Macau. Modernization around is quickly changing the city, as documented by Paul Tsui. (Photo by Paul Tsui/National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest)

Indigenous dancers participate in a traditional healing ceremony for the mother earth at El Salvador del Mundo Square in San Salvador, December 10, 2014. Salvadorean indigenous organizations participated in a ceremony to ask for solutions to stop climate change and respect planet earth as the U.N. Climate Change Conference COP 20 is bring held in Peru. The two-week long United Nations climate summit opened on December 1 in Lima, with experts and analysts from around the world gathering to discuss melting glaciers and extreme weather patterns. (Photo by Jose Cabezas/Reuters)

Aymara indigenous people celebrate the “Roscasiri”, the change of command of local authorities, in Pomata District, one of seven districts of the Chucuito Province in the Puno Region, southern Peru, on January 1, 2022. This ancient Aymara event, in which people adorn themselves with breads and fruits that represent abundance for the new year, celebrates the change of command of local authorities. (Photo by Carlos Mamani/AFP Photo)

Ocean Rebellion put on a display of puking oil heads ahead of climate change conference COP26 in Glasgow, Britain, 29 October 2021. (Photo by Robert Perry/EPA/EFE)