David Harris Lang – Artist and Author
David Lang is an artist working in watercolor and pen and ink, an international architect, and an author. David believes that it is a basic human need to be able to express one’s self creatively, and his art and writing emanates from this impulse. To David, art is storytelling.
Whether through his paintings, his pen and ink drawings, or his writing, David’s ultimate goal is to evoke a feeling and a connection to those experiencing his art.
Born in New York, David’s first art experiences as a boy were regular trips with his dad to the Museum of Natural History, where he would sketch pictures of the animals in the dioramas. At an early age David and his family moved to Japan. The influence of Asian art of all types, and Asian culture, have had an unmistakable influence on David’s life and work. Graduating from Pratt Institute in New York, David became an architect working in the international arena, traveling throughout Asia and Europe. David currently resides in California.
Art and Inspiration
The Story of Henry and Harry
Harry Lang, David’s grandfather, started a fur-trading business in 1923 based in Tianjin, China. Henry, David’s dad, joined the business in the 1930’s after graduating from university. Harry and Henry would regularly travel to Mukden (modern-day Shenyang, China) from Tianjin with a small mercenary army to trade silver for furs on the Mongolian plains. At the time a shooting war was going on around them as Japan, Russia, and China fought for control of Mukden. From Tianjin they would ship the furs back to New York.
The adventures of Henry and Harry were the inspiration for David’s first book, The Journal of Rabbi Levy Wang, and their spirit serves as a muse for his others.
The Chop
In Asia it is traditional for a person to use an official seal or stamp to chop an important business document rather than sign it. David found his grandfather’s chop from the 1920’s, carved from ivory He uses this chop to sign his art. When he chops a painting with his grandfather’s seal, he can really feel the close connection to his grandfather. The chop says Harry Lang in Japanese katakana characters
Art
David Lang is an artist working in watercolor and pen and ink. To David, art is storytelling. Whether through his paintings, his pen and ink drawings, or his writing, David’s ultimate goal is to evoke a feeling in and a connection to those experiencing his art.
Books
An author, David Harris Lang uses writing to express himself creatively. His writing inspiration emanates from his experiences, with a goal of evoking a feeling in and a connection to those experiencing his art.
In addition to writing Asian-based thrillers, he is also an internationally acclaimed architect. He brings a unique sense of place to his work as well as a profound understanding of Asian cultures, locales, and customs.
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