Footnotes

Provenance
Asia Art Center, Taipei
Galerie Annie Minet & Luc Merenda, Thoiry
Private Collection, France
Thence by descent to the present owner

Exhibited
Beijing, Beijing 798 Asia Art Center, Li Chen: Soul Guardians – In an Age of Disasters and Calamities, 19 October - 21 December 2008 (different sized edition exhibited)
Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Li Chen: Mind・Body・Spirit, 17 September - 9 December 2009 (different sized edition exhibited)
Cannes, Hotel Majestic Barriere, The 68th Cannes Film Festival, 13 - 24 May 2015 (different sized edition exhibited)

Literature
Asia Art Center, Li Chen: Energy of Emptiness 2007 Solo Exhibition at 52nd
International Art Exhibiton-La Biennale di Venezia, Taipei, 2007, p.205, illustrated in colour (different sized editions)
Asia Art Center, Li Chen : In Search of Spiritual Space 2008 Solo Exhibition at National Art Museum of China, Taipei, 2008, p.183, illustrated in black and white (different sized editions)
Asia Art Center, Li Chen: Soul Guardians – In an Age of Disasters and Calamities, Taipei, 2009, p. 190, illustrated in black and white (different sized editions)
Singapore Art Museum, Li Chen: Mind・Body・Spirit, Singapore, 2010, p.86-87, p.184, illustrated in colour (different sized editions)

李真
雪峰仙蹤
銅雕
2007年作

簽名：Li Chen 2007.（刻於背部）
版數：5/8（刻於背部）
藝術家鈐印一枚

此作附亞洲藝術中心開立之作品證書

來源
台北，亞洲藝術中心
法國，圖瓦里，Annie Minet & Luc Merenda畫廊
法國私人收藏
現藏家繼承自上述來源

展覽
「神魄」，北京798亞洲藝術中心，北京，2008年10月19日至12月21日（另一尺寸、版數）
「李真：精神、身體、靈魂」，新加坡美術館，新加坡，2009年9月17日至12月9日（另一尺寸、版數）
第68屆坎城影展，戛納大華酒店，坎城，2015年5月13至24日（另一尺寸、版數）

出版
《李真—虛空中的能量 第 52 屆威尼斯雙年展》，亞洲藝術中心，台北，2007，第205頁，彩圖（另一尺寸、版數）
《李真—尋找精神的空間：中國美術館個展》，亞洲藝術中心，台北，2008，第183頁，黑白圖版（另一尺寸、版數）
《神魄》，亞洲藝術中心，台北，2009，第190頁，黑白圖版（另一尺寸、版數）
《李真：精神、身體、靈魂》，新加坡美術館，新加坡，2010，第86-87頁及第184頁，彩圖（另一尺寸、版數）


In contemporary sculpture, Taiwanese artist Li Chen can be considered as one of the most stylistically unique practitioners in the discipline. In the 1980s, a revival of Buddhism in Taiwan led Li Chen on the path to study traditional Buddhist sculpture. This pursuit would imbue his works with spirituality and depth later in his career. In his artistic practice, Li Chen is constantly seeking a balance between the spiritual state of "no-self" employed by the ancient craftsmen of Buddhist sculpture and the strong sense of "self" asserted in contemporary art. By combining traditional Chinese Buddhist sculpture aesthetics with modern art characteristics, he preserves the succinctness and introspectiveness in Chinese aesthetics while challenging the sense of proportion, form, and medium in the tradition. As such, Li Chen has created a singular stylistic language that highlights the interplay between lightness, strength, and gravity. In 2007, Li Chen was invited to participate in the 52nd Venice Biennale. His works were subsequently shown in many major international exhibitions, including the Place Vendôme in Paris. The two works presented in the current sale, The Pursuer from the Beacon series and Snow Wonderland from the Spiritual Journey through the Great Ether series, are prime examples of the fusion of Eastern aesthetics and the modern context. The way in which Li Chen perfectly marries ancient wisdom with the richly expressive power of contemporary art is a testament to his artistic achievement as a preeminent figure in sculptural art.

Completed in 2007, Snow Wonderland belongs to Li Chen's most iconic series the Spiritual Journey through the Great Ether. The eyes of the little monk are placidly closed, conveying a sense of transcendental serenity. Voluminous in form, his left hand holds a fly whisk that brushes away all the troubles of the material world, while his right hand welcomes all matters in life with an open palm. With one leg crossed and another perched at the peak of a mountain, the figure is situated in an immense "emptiness"—it is a state of spiritual peace and supreme detachment in Buddhism. Li Chen masterfully employed the hue of ink black instead of pure black to accentuate the fullness of the figure with light and shadow effects. The weightiness of the black and the brightness of the silver peak form a fantastical juxtaposition that is both heavy and light at the same time. In Buddhism, emptiness is a state that is formless and signless but all encompassing. Although it is immaterial, it commands all states of being. Snow Wonderland sheds all the esoteric details in tradition Buddhist teachings and retains its most essential form. This reductionistic treatment cultivates a diversity of possibilities in an open realm. The coexistence of the tangible and the intangible creates a sense of eternal boundlessness.

"Tradition is like a great mountain. I have been trying to find myself within it". - Li Chen

Not only are Li Chen's works a visual feast, they also inspire an awakening of self-awareness. Through stationery forms, the artist is able to express a vigorous sense of motion. This contradiction brilliantly illustrates the concept of non-being and being in Taoist philosophy. It strikes a balance between the "egoless" approach of respecting traditional art and the "personalised" approach in individualistic art. These insightful works breathe new life into Eastern art and enable viewers to understand Eastern traditional philosophies in novel ways that transcend time and space.

在當代藝術雕塑領域中，來自台灣的李真可謂是其中最獨樹一幟的華人藝術家。1980年代，佛教在台灣的興盛引領李真走上傳統佛像雕塑的研習道路，也為他後來的藝術創作註入了靈感與深度。在創作中，李真不斷在古代工匠修造佛像時的「無我」精神與現代藝術的「自我」中尋求平衡。他嘗試將傳統中國佛像美學與現代藝術特色相結合，在保留中國美學的簡約內斂下，突破傳統的比例、姿態和材質，傳達"舉重若輕"的獨特風格語言。2007年，李真受邀參展第52屆威尼斯雙年展，隨後在全球多個城市展出作品，包括巴黎凡登廣場，將其對東方美學的新興詮釋推向全世界。此次呈現的兩件作品是「天燧系列」經典作品的《追燭》和 「大氣神遊」系列的佳作《雪峰仙蹤》，完美融合了東方美學的智慧與現代語境，豐富了當代藝術的表現形式，使李真成為雕塑藝術界的一座高峰。

作品《雪峰仙蹤》是來自於李真最具代表性的系列「大氣神遊」，創作於2007年。小和尚雙眼微閉，流露出寧靜超然的神情，姿態圓潤豐盈。他左握拂塵，象徵拂去塵世煩惱，右掌張開，接納萬物。雙足交叉穩立於山峰之上，置身於無垠的「虛空」中，順應了佛教中追求心靈平和與超脫的境界。李真巧妙運用墨黑而非純黑色，使作品獨具溫潤立體的光影效果，黑的沉穩與銀色雪峰的明亮相互襯托，達到既重又輕的奇妙氛圍。在佛教中，「虛空」意指無形無相，包羅萬象，雖無固定形態，卻蘊含萬物。《雪峰仙蹤》去除了傳統佛像繁複的細節，保留純粹的形態。這種簡化與留白，在空無中孕育著一切可能性，虛實并存，帶來無限延伸的感受。

「傳統就像是一座大山，我一直試圖找到自己。」 – 李真

李真的作品不僅僅是視覺的享受，更是一種自我意識的覺醒。在他的藝術中，他通過靜止的形態傳達出動態之感，巧妙地將道教哲學中的「無」與「有」具象化，平衡了對尊重傳統文化的「無我」與個性化藝術傳達的「自我」。使觀者體驗到一種超越時空，對東方傳統哲學的新思考，賦予東方藝術新的生命力。