李真重裝雕塑 空降巴黎Li Chen's Monumental Sculptures Descend Upon Paris

備受國際關注的華人當代雕塑家李真，即將受邀於法國巴黎凡登廣場(Place Vendôme)展出，正式宣告歐洲巡迴展開跑! 展期9月2日－29日，2011年中正紀念堂戶外雕塑大展的規模即將移師巴黎，在有著「巴黎珠寶箱」美譽的「凡登廣場」舉辦。展出作品囊括12件李真創作中最具代表性的大型雕塑，涵蓋1998年至2010年的四個重要創作系列。

李真自2007年受邀至有著「藝術界奧林匹克」之稱的威尼斯雙年展舉行個展後，藝術成就受到國際肯定。在藝術的範疇中，雕塑是「重工業」，近代眾多的藝術史學者總認為，要誕生一個雕塑家遠比畫家更不容易。佔據三度空間的雕塑，有複雜的內部結構及物理平衡，需要好的技術才能琢磨出藝術家天馬行空的概念；還得為作品與設備尋找廣大的工作室使用空間，讓藝術家在裡面搭建鷹架，爬上爬下，只為了從無到有地創作雕塑實體，過程中不但十分耗體力又有一定危險性。國內展出時就需要詳細安排裝吊、陸路運輸等，此次李真舉辦歐洲巡迴展，遠赴巴黎展出的背後也正因背後有一個專業團隊的長期運作，李真歐洲雕塑大展才得以逐步成形。

過去一年來，工作團隊與凡登廣場委員會不斷協調展期、確認地面承重、倉庫空間規劃、運輸動線，經過密集的交涉，終於2013年得到最後確認，工作團隊立即著手進行運輸前置作業。此次凡登廣場展出最大者高達9米、3層樓高，重達2噸，動用了所有人力以大型機具吊掛移動，在挑高的工作室中嚴密包裝作品及當地佈展所需之工具與材料，動用吊卡車、堆高機、低板拖車、貨櫃車等大型機具，最終能將巨大的作品裝入特別訂製的木箱並吊入貨櫃。偌大的工作室中，人員在作品、木箱、貨櫃之間穿梭，如同格列佛遊記一般，比較出人的渺小，更顯現藝術家創作巨型雕塑和舉辦歐洲大展的精神可佩。過程中工作團隊不斷克服各種技術難題，工法之繁複正如建築現場，花費整整一週的時間──2013年7月10日，6支貨櫃正式出港! 目前12件雕塑正在海上航行，預計8月中旬抵達法國。

9月2日起，12件作品《無憂國土》、《無心海》、《天界山水》、《清風雲露》、《飛行樂土》、《捻花》、《追燭》、《浮光》、《大士騎龍》、《天闕輕舟》《風神》、《火神》等將星佈於凡登廣場中。我們可以看到雕塑人物的表情、姿勢、體態有孩子般的天真，將智慧包藏在幽默感中；有些作品則隱喻大自然的力量，藉由神魄指出在充滿人禍天險的時代中，人對於精神信仰的依賴性也越大。李真以中國傳統文化為基礎，融合東西方的藝術語言，將「大自在」透過這些量體龐大的雕塑傳達給人們。

雕塑運輸繁複而特殊的場景都被攝影師記錄下來，李真的「新東方」雕塑已引發歐洲其他國家的興趣，如義大利、德國的單位正在與藝術家進行初步的接洽。此次華人藝術能夠於國際曝光，感謝長榮集團及法國各單位的大力支持，以及眾多藝術愛好者熱情的參與。邀請更多朋友提前規劃行程親赴巴黎，近距離與藝術家一同尋找俗世中的樂土!

展覽資訊

Internationally acclaimed Chinese contemporary sculptor, Li Chen, is officially invited to host a major outdoor sculpture exhibition at Place Vendôme in Paris. The event will span from September 2^nd to 29^th, 2013, launching the debut of his exhibition tour in Europe. Li Chen’s much-appreciated outdoor exhibition premiere at Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall back in 2011 will be viewable at Place Vendôme—a treasure trove in Paris and home to some of the biggest names in jewelry. They will display 12 representative sculptures from Li Chen’s 4 creative series from 1998 to 2010.

Li Chen international recognition and credibility has steadily risen since his solo exhibition at the International Art Exhibition (La Biennale di Venezia), or so-called Olympics of art, in 2007. Among all the art forms, making sculptures is considered a laborious work of “heavy industry”. Therefore, many art historians and scholars believe that a distinguished sculptor is harder to come by than a painter. In fact, a 3-dimensional sculpture contains intricate interior structure; it requires physical balance calculation and excelled technique to put artist’s wildest imagination into form. In addition, one needs a spatial studio for the artworks, equipments, and scaffolding for the artist to climb up and down. The making process of a sculpture from scratch is physically consuming and considerably dangerous, not to mention exceptionally detailed arrangements including installation schedule and in-land transportation are necessary for domestic exhibitions. Therefore, without continuous cooperation from Li Chen’s professional organizer, his sculpture exhibition in Europe wouldn’t have been possible!

Over this past year, his project organizer has coordinated ceaselessly with Vendôme’s committee on issues such as extending the exhibition period, confirming maximum load capacities, planning transportation and storage, and more. After intensive negotiations, the exhibition was declared official by authorities in 2013. At this point, the organizational team immediately proceeded with transportation arrangements. For instance, the largest piece to be displayed at Place Vendôme is 9 meters (3-storey) high, and weighs 2 tons! The transportation process for this exhibition was particularly complex and involved considerable manpower and machinery. Inside the artist’s high-ceilinged studio, workers scrupulously packed works of art as well as installation equipments. Cranes, forklifts, trailers, and semi-trucks were also utilized to place these large pieces of art into customized crates, and then containers. Inside the studio, workers traverse among relatively huge artworks, heavy crates and containers, as if stepping into Jonathan Swift’s Gulliver's Travels. The tiny human figures are in contrast with giant sculptures, symbolizing an admirable spirit and determination to organize such major exhibition in Europe. With their professional knowledge and skills, the team was able to overcome several technical difficulties. Followed by one laborious week as complicated as any other construction project, the ship carrying 6 containers left the port on July 10^th, 2013. Currently the 12 sculptures are on their way to France and are expected to arrive in mid-August.

Starting on September 2^nd, 12 sculptures: “Pure Land”, “Clear Soul”, “Landscape in Heaven”, “Soothing Breezes Floating Clouds”, “Float to Sukhavati”, “Angelic Smile”, “The Pursuer”, “Flickering Moonlight”, “Dragon-Riding Buddha”, “Floating Heavenly Palace”, “Lord of Wind”, and “Lord of Fire”, will be on show at the square of Place Vendôme. Some sculptures’ facial expression, posture, and body display a childlike innocence, concealing great wisdom behind humorous narrative; some works are metaphorical presentation of natural power, through the series of Soul Guardians to point out our desire for spiritual salvation in an age of disasters and calamities. Li Chen’s artwork is an integration of Eastern and Western artistic language based on Chinese traditional culture, a “transcendental” experience of levity through monumental sculptures.

In addition to detailed and fascinating documentation of sculpture packing process captured by photographer, Li Chen’s “New Eastern” sculpture has aroused interests among other European countries, with Italian and German organization initiating their preliminary contact with the artist. Thanks to the strong support from the Evergreen Group and several French organizations, as well as enthusiastic participation from many art lovers, Chinese art can be appreciated by the global community. We cordially invite you and your friends to plan ahead for a journey to Paris to uncover a wealth of joy amidst the simple life’s pleasures with the artist.
 

Exhibition Information