Abstract sleight of hand

SOME art observers regard Ruben Pang as one of the most exciting young talents to emerge in recent years. And it's easy to see why. At 23 and just out of National Service, the confidence of his abstract art belies his youth.

Whether he's painting multi-hued spectral beings soaring through a cold black space, or evoking moods through fine translucent colour blocks, the works are complex, nuanced and absorbing. The 20 paintings and sculptures for his upcoming solo show at Chan Hampe Galleries are more proof of that.

It doesn't hurt that the young Pang - no pun intended - is a genuinely social creature who talks to almost everyone as if he or she is his new best friend. Conversations are peppered with hip movie, music and literary references - not because he's name-dropping to impress but because pop culture informs so much of his art.