Heavenly Pond

Heavenly Pond has it inspiration rooted in Li Chen's love for Nature, especially lakes and his all-time favourite Sun Moon Lake in Taiwan. He recalls looking upon lakes on a mountain top - ones which radiate warm glow under sunshine and between colourful clouds - from a flight window when traveling in Europe. The grandeur and splendor of Nature has touched him deeply, giving him endless inspirations. These inspirations have turned Heavenly Pond into a piece that helps the viewer reach inner peace. This hefty and tranquil work heightens the materiality of the medium. It is a piece of salvation and self-purification, representing a state of complete comfort and satisfaction as if one just steps out from a bath or a swimming pool. This spirituality and desire in the Heavenly Pond is portrayed through the curvy figure, the satiated facial expression, and the lively gesture. The figure stretches his arms and chest, emphasizing the slightly bloating abdomen and buttom. This realistic and anatomical depiction of human body had never been in Li Chen's art before. Another piece Meditation, the person depicted in this work holds both hands high above his head. The golden figure held aloft represents the "Nature of Buddha." Although this can be seen in the kindness that is an indivisible part of human nature, people are often unable to feel it without closing their eyes, looking deep inside themselves and searching for the benevolent heart that resides within. Li Chen presents a visual impression of abstract human nature, utilizing gold for emphasis and placing it in two hands raised high, as an allusion to its importance. The smoothness and warmth of the gold presents a contrast and yet is in perfect harmony with the silent blackness of the main sculpture. As Li Chen has said himself, the purpose of his art was to "turn presence into absence", an overarching philosophy informed by Buddhist sense of a necessary absence and the Taoist commitment to instilling one's vital Qi. Li Chen's sculpture exudes an exuberantly humane spirit and intimacy, with its childlike innocence and unambiguous joy aspiring to a spiritual art therapy in the midst of the otherwise alienating. Li Chen deliberately places the head of the figure in the front of the work, so that viewed from behind the piece appears to be inverted and inserted into clouds, leaving only the area below the waist visible. Despite this apparent inversion, the hands resemble a lotus flower holding aloft that most valuable "Buddhist nature. "By incorporating eastern philosophy into contemporary art practices, Li Chen successfully accomplishes a style which has fully liberated itself from the confines of the tradition, evincing a refreshing and natural effect.