ILLUSTRATED:

Li Chen was born in Yunlin, Taiwan in 1963, and is recognized as one of the most important artists in the field of contemporary sculpture. Li Chen integrates Chinese and Western culture in his art, which has a strong flavor of eastern art along with the simplicity of Western art style. Since the year 2000, Li Chen has taken part in exhibitions in major cities such as New York, Chicago, Miami, Paris, London, Geneva, Shanghai, Beijing, Singapore, Seoul, Hong Kong, Jakarta, and Taipei, and many of his works have been collected privately and publicly in many countries. Li is considered an important international artist. He held his solo exhibition "Energy of Emptiness" at the 52nd Venice Biennial in 2007, becoming the first Taiwanese artist invited on his own behalf by this most important and forward-looking event in the field of art. In 2008 he held another large-scale solo exhibition "Seeking Spirit Space" in the National Art Museum of China in Beijing, and exhibited his latest "Soul Guardians" series in Beijing's 798 Art Zone. Both won extensive coverage and positive responses. He will hold a large-scale outdoor exhibition of sculptures for a period of three months in Singapore Art Museum in September 2009, which is sure to garner him an even larger and wider set of admirers.

"Snow Wonderland" was completed in 2007. It is one of the latest creations of Li Chen's "Spiritual Journey through the Great Ether" series. Absorbing the essence of Chinese artistic conception, Li Chen's work contains a kind of celestial atmosphere, and emphasizes a "journey", guiding observers to calm down and relax in an empty and bright state of mind, to comfortably and leisurely enjoy a spiritual journey, and to face life with the most genuine attitude. Li Chen displays superb integration of texture and lines in his sculpture. The work looks simple, but abounds with changes in light and shadow, with profound and delicate verve resting within its roundish shape. The figure holds a horsetail whisk in its left hand, and pushes a palm with its right hand, and stands with crossed feet. According to Taoism, a horsetail whisk is actually a metaphor for wiping off mortal destiny to achieve transcendency and be freed from earthliness. Traditionally a Taoist would take a horsetail whisk with them while they travel. The work spontaneously emanates and shows the flavor and spirit of an immortal Taoist and the vivid sculpture is also added with a mysterious atmosphere. The sense of reality is emphasized by the special effect of ink black treated with misty brightness, which gives observers a feeling of weight and of lightness as well. The opposition and harmony of gentle silver and energetic black make the excellent work of art affordable for thoughts.

By means of contemporary sculpture, Li Chen has developed a new oriental spirit which is different from its traditional outlook, and displays a higher level of spiritual beauty, and has enabled the traditional statue which originated thousands of years ago to perfectly integrate with modern elements. He presents via visual images the narrow gap between material space and spiritual space, and further expresses the value of human beings and spirit, arousing the immediate emotion of viewers. The spiritual world reflected in Li Chen's work, plus his sense of humor and design of rich implication, presents feelings of emptiness, illusion, and quietness, which are the meaning and connotation of heavenly wisdom. It is simple in design, and conveys direct body language. The "Snow Wonderland" successfully expresses the perfect integration of the mountain, the immortal, and human beings. This rare and elaborate work of art visualizes the concept of "emptiness" in Buddhism and that of "Qi (close to the meaning of 'spirit')" in the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi, and simultaneously shows concern for the mortal world by conveying the notion of peace.