Bronze sculpture Edition: 4/8

122 × 75 × 63 cm. 48 × 29 1/2 × 24 3/4 in.

Signed in Chinese and English, numbered, and dated on the bottom of the backside

LITERATURE (different sized edition)
2004, Li Chen 1992-2002 Sculpture, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p. 78-79
2006, Li Chen: Oriental Sculpture Spiritual Journey, Asia Art Center, Taipei, cover page
2007, Li Chen: Energy of Emptiness, 2007 Solo Exhibition at 52nd International Art Exhibiton-La Biennale di Venezia, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p. 104-107
2008, Li Chen: In Search of Spiritual Space, 2008 Solo Exhibition at National Art Museum of China, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p. 30-37, 170, 174, 176, and 196
2009, Soul Guardians: Li Chen Sculpture, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p. 24
2010, Li Chen: Mind．Body．Spirit, Li Chen Solo Exhibition at Singapore Art Museum, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, p. 57, 126, 138, 150, and 153-154
2012, Greatness of Spirit – Li Chen Premiere Sculpture Exhibition in Taiwan, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p. 28, and 80-81
2014, Monumental Levity of Li Chen: Premiere Sculpture Exhibition Place Vendome, Asia Art Center, Taipei, p.65, 79, and 84-85
EXHIBITED (different sized edition)
8 Jun – 21 Nov 2007, Li Chen: Energy of Emptiness – 52nd International Art Exhibition – La Biennale di Venezia, Venice
29 Apr – 11 May 2008, Li Chen: In Search of Spiritual Space, National Art Museum of China, Beijing
17 Sep – 9 Dec 2009, Li Chen: Mind．Body．Spirit, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore
6 Nov – 4 Dec 2011, Greatness of Spirit – Li Chen Premiere Sculpture Exhibition in Taiwan, Chiang Kai-Shek Memorial Hall and Freedom Square, Taipei
2 – 29 Sep 2013, Li Chen‘s Major Sculpture Solo Exhibition, Place Vendome, Paris
3 Nov 2018 – 27 Jan 2019, Through the Ages – Li Chen Solo Exhibition, Aurora Museum, Shanghai

PROVENANCE
Asia Art Center, Taipei
Acquired directly by present important private Asian collector from the above

This work is accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Asia Art Center, Taipei

Travelling in Heavenly Landscapes, Enlivening Spiritual Radiance
The Wisdom and Vitality of Li Chen’s Sculptures

Merging the roundness and refinement of the oriental Buddha statues, humour, and interest of contemporary elements, Li Chen presents the attitude of "lifting weight as light ", which is the individual vocabulary of Li’s sculptures. He refines Eastern philosophies from the principles of Buddhism and has realized spiritual perception from the inside out. He tries to convey a different spiritual world with different works, which is widely praised by the Chinese and Western art circles. In 2007, he became the first Chinese artist to hold a solo exhibition in the Venice Biennale, and in 2008, 2009, and in 2011 he successively held solo exhibitions at the National Art Museum of China, Singapore Art Museum, and Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei. In 2013, the large-scale exhibition held at Place Vendome in Paris caused huge attention. His works were also collected from organizations, such as the Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, the Geneva Olenska Foundation, St. Regis Hotel in Singapore, and other institutions, which shows his leading position in the Chinese art world.

At this auction, we present Li Chen’s Landscape in Heaven (Lot 35), viewing heaven from the earthly world, and Illuminator (Lot 36) , viewing the inner world from the outer world. They open up a dual space for the audience, both inside and outside of the spirit, with a very spiritual perspective.

The First Landmark Creation in Gold, Silver and Black
The Unity of the Object and the Self in Landscape in Heaven

As an important representative of the Great Ether series, Landscape in Heaven, completed in 2001, is the first work by Li Chen that combines the three materials and colours of gold, silver and copper, which is a milestone of representative significance.

Melting the exquisite and condensed Oriental Buddhist statues with contemporary simplicity and purity, the character in Landscape in Heaven has a rounded and smiling face, holding up a golden mountain in his left hand and spreading a sea of silver in his right hand, and riding on two clouds, leading to the spiritual world of nirvana. The rounded shape of the body makes the character seem to be filled with gas and travelling in the void, and the strong penetrating aura is beyond the ordinary, implying the essence of Taoist imagery of "qi". The glittering silver foil is gentle and the gold foil is solid, contrasting the two textures of exquisite smoothness and coarse- ness. The gold mountain, which means "material", and the silver sea, which is compared to the "spirit", are metaphors for the rich material life of the earthly world and the rich spiritual world of the mind, which are in sharp contrast to the purity of the ink-black bronze sculpture, presenting a "view of the object and the self". The "Gold Mountain and Silver Sea" are held high and low between the two hands, like two sides of a scale, alluding to the fact that in contemporary society, people are lost in the endless pursuit of material desires, and fluctuate between the two. Therefore, through this work, Li Chen explains the ultimate ideal in his heart, and makes the viewer reflect on the meaning and value of life: material abundance is inseparable from spirituality, and the noble spirit also needs material support. Only when external material and internal spirituality are rich in both directions, can one achieve enlightenment and freedom, enjoying the relaxation and ease of travelling on the clouds and the wind, and attaining the state of a rounded and fulfilled life.

The Knowledgeable Love Waters, the Benevolent Love Mountains

"The knowledgeable love waters, the benevolent love mountains; the former are active, the latter are tranquil; the former enjoy a happy life, the latter enjoy a long life."
——Confucius, The Analects of Confucius: The Book of Yongye

In Confucianism, there is a saying of "comparing virtues", which compares the landscapes in nature to the virtues of human beings. In addition to exploring the duality of materialism and spirituality, Landscape in Heaven re-examines the relationship between human beings and nature. As Confucians see it, the wise man loves water, and the movement of the water represents the change of thinking, while the benevolent man loves mountains, and the quietness of the mountains represents the virtue of carrying things. Therefore, in Li Chen’s works, people who are benevolent and wise will be able to see their own nature and pursuits in the mountains and waters, and see their own spiritual reflections. The mountains and the waters that the protagonist is holding in his hands here are precisely the connection between the two lives. As he says, "The greatness of art lies in ‘sharing’, and the achievement of art lies between ‘reality and illusion’. I am not only making sculptures, I am creating happiness, creating something for people to enjoy." This indicates the multiple meanings of this artwork.

Lighting the Lamp with Body, Wisdom of the Everlasting Light
Illuminator, the First Work of the Beacon Series

The Beacon series completed in 2008 was another turning point for Li’s sculpture creation, which further developed a richer context regarding to both the materials and concepts. In this series of only 8 pieces, the gilding is an element added for the first time, symbolizing fire and lighting, and helping the viewer have the spiritual interaction with the work. Illuminator is the first work of the series, originating from the artist’s exprience with instant enlightenment when he lighted a candle one day. The Beacon series thus carries the inspiration and meaning of the artist’s breakthrough of his art creation.

In Illuminator, the child-like protagonist is standing upright on a mountain peak, his right palm flat and concave to serve as a candlestick, and his body as a lampstand, which is quite similar to the ingenuity of the "Standing Man with Bronze Lamps" of the Warring States period. But Li Chen has even more boldly stretched the proportions here, imitating the shape of the candle’s pillar, and pumping the figure up to convey the idea of "lighting the lamp with his body". The child protects the candle with the palm of the other hand, and his eyes are recessed downwards, carefully watching the light in his arms, revealing his determination in silence. In the process of lighting the lamp, the three-dimensional solidity of the sculpture further triggers the viewer’s perceptions, generating a dialogue between "the man, the sculpture, and the fire," giving the viewer the visual sensation of calmness and the amplification of the five senses. With the misty colour of the ink-black lacquer and the light and shadow of the candle flame expressing each other, the sculpture creates a dynamic visual sense of change in addition to a static sense of three-dimensionality.

Price estimate:
HKD: 1,100,000 – 1,800,000
USD: 140,500 - 229,900

Auction Result:
HKD: 1,800,000