Yeon-Tak Chang

Biography

Born in South Korea, Yeon-Tak studied Fine Art at the Seoul National University and at OCA where he majored in sculpture and discovered his medium of choice, marble. Over the course of many decades, his work has been included in solo and group exhibitions globally. He has been invited to participate in Sculpture Symposiums in Vietnam, Korea, Italy and the USA where he created pieces in stone several meters high. Yeon-Tak’s sculptures are included in numerous international private and public collections, notably his latest prestigious commission of a bronze figure of Dr. Frank Schofield at the Metro Toronto Zoo. Dr. Schofield, a native Canadian Missionary assisted the Koreans during the Japanese occupation.

Artist Statement

My passion with stone is reminiscent of the relationship between man and nature and man and his beliefs. The process of carving creates harmony between these two. The rhythms and patterns that appear are symbolic of timeless space and energy that lay deep inside me and the stone. The end result is at its simplest a long search for self- awareness through elements derived from nature. There is an inexplicable but intuitive urging that wells deep within me; a sense of longing and anticipation that something will surely appear or be freed if I continue this “conversation” with the stone.