Li Xiangqun is a leading figure in contemporary sculpture in China, and his sculptures have won numerous international awards, and his sculptural standards and artistic taste have been widely recognized.
Li Xiangqun's sculptural technique, his control of material language, and his continuous breakthrough thinking make it possible for him to create figurative sculptures that are "as heavy as light" - from the artist's point of view, he seems to be at ease with his technique, but inwardly, he is "walking on thin ice" and tense. From the artist's point of view, his approach seems easy, but inside he is as tense and sure as if he is walking on thin ice; from the perspective of his works, the figures are shaped and relaxed, but the sense of power behind them penetrates the heart.
Sculpture is the art of space, it exists in space and gives space meaning. However, in this exhibition, artist Li Xiangqun pursues a transcendence of the general meaning of sculpture. On the one hand, these works are related to historical subjects, which adds the concept of time; on the other hand, placing these works in the Forbidden City, a physical space with special historical significance, greatly expands the connotation of the works and the exhibition. Rather, the exhibition itself is a re-exploration of the relationship between sculpture and space, a more ambitious work.
For example, "The Great Forbidden City" is the artist's portrait of a physical building that is highly symbolic of Chinese history and culture. However, it is clear that the artist has reconstructed the "Forbidden City" in a deconstructive way in terms of the approach to sculpture. "The present man does not see the ancient moon, but the present moon used to shine on the ancient man." Today we can no longer see the Forbidden City of the past, but the Forbidden City of today has listened to the last elegy of the Chinese feudal dynasty. The Forbidden City, which functioned as a "palace," no longer exists, but it exists in history and is preserved in the sculptures of artists. In "Pile of Clouds - Pile of Snow", the artist uses a groundbreaking approach to remove the weight and mystery of the symbol of "Cixi" and explore the contemporary expression of the spirit of traditional Chinese literati through "Yuan Shi Jia" and "Dong Po" in a realistic way ....... It is a rare and valuable act to co-locate these formalized and materialized time in the Forbidden City, the witness of this time. By juxtaposing the "Forbidden City" created by the artist, the "Forbidden City" that exists today as a museum, and the symbol of the "Forbidden City," formalized time is subtly placed in the space of witnessing In this way, the artist allows the Forbidden City to see itself and history to see the present, where time and space care for each other and are objects.
Li Xiangqun regards "asking questions and providing space to think about them" as the social responsibility of contemporary artists. Sartre said that man brings "nothing" to the world. The meaning of the world has changed because of the existence of man. Let us narrow down the scope of people to the group of artists, and the meaning of the world appears to change in a richer way. Art makes the work a work of art and makes the person an artist. Art makes existence open up and history open up, but art preserves freedom, so that art preserves history, life, and thought. Art makes living history open up.
"Everyone can question history". What is the historical truth? What is the meaning of history? Artists are free, they are free to go wild, the answers are open, and the audience can speculate on the artist's intentions at will, so it is a world of total freedom. And this freedom is what makes art, and artists and artworks. Artists have no intention to provide conclusions, but are willing to awaken the possibility of more thinking by showing their own thinking.
