The Atari Art of Warren Chang

17 May The Atari Art of Warren Chang

Warren Chang was born in Monterey, California, in 1957 and graduated from the Art Center College of Design in Pasadena in 1981. He landed a position as a staff illustrator at Atari as his first job out of school. He survived several rounds of freelance cuts, which included his work on Realsport Baseball and Realsport Tennis, and landed his first in-house assignment, Math Gran Prix, at the beginning of 1982. His subsequent projects included Choplifter, Dukes of Hazzard, Moon Patrol, Raiders of the Lost Ark, the Swordquest series, and Track & Field. His work was standout at a shop that had a reputation for hiring the very best illustrators in America, but Warren left at the end of 1983 when the house look at Atari shifted from technical virtuosity to high contrast.

LUCASFILM PUBLISHED CONCEPT ART

DUKES OF HAZZARD

Atari never released a game on the popular 80’s CBS TV show starring two country cousins and their orange Dodge Charger, the General Lee, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. The company worked on two different versions of the game for the Atari 2600; one an original creation, and another based on its earlier console game, Stunt Cycle. The 1983 prototype was nearly finished, but never released–though preliminary art for the game was created by artist Warren Chang. When the project was canceled, work was halted on any additional illustrations. These paintings are a snapshot of videogame history that never happened. If Atari cartridge art is rare, concept art is exceptionally so.

ATARI 2600 & 5200 CONCEPT & FINAL ART:

After 20 years as an award-winning illustrator, Chang embarked on a career in fine art in 2000. He has been honored as a Signature Artist member of the California Art Club and a Master Signature member of the Oil Painters of America.

Chang’s work has been recognized nationally and been profiled in many art publications, including the covers of American Artist and International Artist magazines, accompanying a series of eight articles on instructional painting that he authored. He has been an instructor of drawing and painting for fourteen years, including three years at the Pratt Institute in New York City and currently at the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, and he conducts painting workshops nationally.

All of Chang’s paintings represent a personal truth through his reflections of real life. Technique is subordinate to his ideas, as he channels an honest expression from within. This allows him to paint sincerely. A unique form of thinking prevails in his works, and each new painting represents a new discovery of himself.

His awards include “Best of Show” at the Salon International in 2003 in San Antonio, Texas; the Southwest Art Award of Excellence in 2008 and the Fine Art Connoisseur award for painting in 2009, both at the California Art Club’s Gold Medal Exhibition, held at the Pasadena Museum of California Art; and first place in RayMar Art’s Fine Art Competition in 2010. Chang is participating with the America China Oil Painting Artists League‘s exhibition of contemporary American and Chinese realism at The World Art Museum in Beijing (2012), which is the first stop of a yearlong tour of major provinces in China. Furthermore, The Butler Institute of American Art celebrated the art of Warren Chang with a solo exhibition in May of 2014.

Warren showcased alongside fellow Atari legends, Evelyn Seto and James Kelly (as well as contemporary videogame-theme specialist, Ian Young) as part of the landmark 25¢ a Play: The Art of the Videocade, co-curated by Gallery 30 South owner Matt Kennedy for Peekaboo Gallery.  The exhibition brought together classic arcade games and original videogame keyart in a celebration of the classic arcade era.

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Matt Kennedy
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323 547 3227
info@gallery30south.com