"We live in a highly complex and volatile age. There is a deep spiritual poverty within humanity – they are spiritually lost and confused souls. Art is not merely a record of life and its activities, but is also a valuable form of spiritual healing."
~ Li Chen
Taichung, 2009

Li Chen is regarded as one of the leading sculptors working in Asia today. His powerful, large-scale bronzes fuse Chan (Zen) thought with contemporary art practice. Li, who lives and works in both Shanghai and Taiwan, began his largely self-taught career by producing traditional Buddhist sculptures. In the 1990s, he freed himself from the restraints of the traditional canon while retaining a profound spirituality in his work. This was further deepened through his study of scriptures in Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism. In 2007, a large scale exhibition of Li Chen’s work was presented at the 52nd Venice Biennale and in 2008, his work was recognised at a major solo exhibition titled In Search of Spiritual Space at The National Art Museum of China in Beijing.

Li Chen: Mind. Body. Spirit is the coming together of both the physical and non-physical aspects of Li Chen’s works – encompassing the material and the spiritual. The artist’s 21 works (25 sculptures) are presented from four series: The Beauty of Emptiness (1992 to 1997), Energy of Emptiness (1998 to 2000), Spiritual Journey through the Great Ether (2001 to present) and Soul Guardians (2008 to present). These sculptures are situated at prominent locations within the arts and heritage district of Singapore namely, the Singapore Art Museum, the Land Transport Authority sites above
the Mass Rapid Transit stations, the Campus Green of the Singapore Management University, and under the Banyan tree of the National Museum of Singapore.