LI CHEN (Chinese, B. 1963)

The Egret

Details

LI CHEN (Chinese, B. 1963)
The Egret
signed in Chinese; signed and numbered 'Li Chen 3/8' in Pinyin (lower back)
bronze sculpture
80 x 63 x 42 cm. (31 1/2 x 24 3/4 x 16 1/2 in.)
edition 3/8
Executed in 2000

Provenance

Private collection, Asia

Literature

Asia Art Center, Li Chen Sculpture 1992-2002, Taipei, Taiwan, 2004 (different sized version illustrated, pp. 68-69).
Asia Art Center, Li Chen : Energy of Emptiness, Taipei, Taiwan, 2007 (different sized version illustrated, pp. 80-81).
Singapore Art Museum, Li Chen : Mind．Body．Spirit, Li Chen Solo Exhibition at Singapore Art Museum, 2009 (different sized version illustrated, pp. 82-83).
Asia Art Center, Greatness of Spirit: Li Chen Premiere Sculpture Exhibition in Taiwan, Taipei, Taiwan, 2012 (different sized version illustrated, p. 151).

Exhibited

Venice, Italy, 52nd Venice Biennale, Li Chen: Energy of Emptiness, 6 June-21 November 2007 (different sized version exhibited).
Singapore, Singapore Art Museum, Li Chen: Mind Body Spirit, 17 September-9 December 2009 (different sized version exhibited).

Brought to you by

Marcello Kwan

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Lot Essay

As a child, Li Chen loved to watch egrets frolicking freely in the fields. But with rapid industrialization and worsening environmental pollution, chances of sighting these birds diminished over time. In The Egret (Lot 130), a man, representing humanity, is smiling contentedly as he embraces the egret tightly. The sculpture reflects what the artist cannot achieve in reality and expresses something close to his heart - the protection and care of the environment, so that ultimately man may coexist with nature in perfect harmony.

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