Macpro Gallery

Li Chen was born in Yunlin, Taiwan in 1963 and now has studios situated in Taichung and Shanghai. He accomplished a style which has fully liberated itself from the confines of tradition by incorporating feelings of self-mindfulness and interpretations of Chinese classics from the Buddhist and Taoist traditions, blended with contemporary thought, evincing a remarkably refreshing and natural affect. The underlying aesthetic principles in Li’s sculpture are based not only on a “dual composition” of Eastern traditions and Western sculptural language but also on an ongoing dialogue with the spiritual and material cultures of Africa and Oceania. Furthermore, Li Chen’s art work aspires to a spiritual arts therapy, uncovering a wealth of joy amidst the simple life’s pleasures, innovating a spiritual space through the pieces, as humor embellishes a metaphorical engagement with the world, in the hopes of sharing this consciousness with the viewer as they appreciate the spiritual elements informing these creations. 

In 1999, Li Chen had his artwork debut in Taipei. Since 2000, his world tour exhibition started from New York to Chicago, Jerusalem, Copenhagen, Miami, Paris, London, Beijing, Shanghai, Geneva, Singapore, Seoul, etc. He became the first Chinese artist to give a solo exhibition in the 52nd Venice Biennale in 2007. In 2008, his work was recognized at a major solo exhibition at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. In 2009, Singapore Art Museum invited him to have his first solo outdoor sculpture exhibition. In 2011, Li Chen’s “Greatness of Spirit: the Li Chen Premiere Sculpture Exhibition in Taiwan,” marked Asia’s largest outdoor sculpture exhibition undertaking in the thirty year history of the CKS memorial hall and presented Li's fruitful 12-year creation from Taiwan's landmark to show the radiant bloom of the perfect combination of the spirit of the orient and contemporary vision. In 2012, he launched his first solo exhibition in the United State—Li Chen: Eternity and Commoner, at Frye Art Museum in Seattle. It is, therefore, the artist’s truest desire to share life’s inspirations with viewers through his own sculptures.