Lee Tsai-chien (李再鈐) expected to expand his knowledge of Chinese sculpture when he set out for Europe’s galleries and museums in the early 1970s. What he didn’t expect to investigate, however, was the long tradition of Western sculpture dating back thousands of years.
“Traveling to China at the time was out of the question,” the 80-year-old sculptor said. “And when I traveled through Europe, I discovered for myself the ancient Greeks.”
What began as a search for Chinese sculpture ended with a book on Greek art and an enduring interest in the geometric forms that the ancient Greeks were obsessed with — an obsession that permeates the 16 abstract sculptures made from steel that are currently on display at the National Taiwan University of the Arts’ campus until March of next year.
The exhibition literature states that it is the largest outdoor exhibition of sculpture ever in Taiwan, and the lush grounds of Aigrette Down (鷺鷥草原) — a series of rolling hills to the left of the university’s front gate with stunning views of Taipei — serve as an ideal space for Lee’s large sculptures. Each sculpture can be seen as a meditation on an Eastern philosophical concept — whether Buddhism or Taoism — or Greek geometrical forms.
Jiang Yen-chou (江衍疇), the exhibit’s curator, breaks Lee’s abstract sculptures down into four periods both thematically and chronologically. “Finite and Infinite” dates to Lee’s earliest period — a time when he was establishing his personal style working with geometric shapes and surfaces. Using the symbol for infinity (∞) as inspiration, Unlimited Extension fuses three pyramids together in a way that resembles a closed ring. The surfaces proceed inward and outward and form an “unlimited extension” that goes on to infinity.
Lee’s “Decomposition and Composition” period reveals an interest in the five Platonic solids. It seems natural that the mathematics underpinning ancient metaphysical ideas would give way to an aesthetic of geometric forms. Cubed (元) is made up of three separate but linked cubes and demonstrates a mathematical theory through the combination of geometrical shapes.
A close reading of Buddhist and Taoist philosophy marks a transition to “Substance and Formlessness,” Lee’s third period, though still remains true to the geometric forms of the earlier works. Two for One (二而不二) incorporates the ideas of substance and formlessness, the physical and the imagination by juxtaposing two towers of stainless steel, the center of which is polished so as to provide a reflection of one with the other.
Lee shifts ideas inward in the final period, “Abstraction and Sense of Poetry,” and translates his personal experience into monumental sculptures. Dew (露), which stands in front of the university’s Administration Building, is a tall, slightly askew sculpture cross-sectioned with small bead shapes, which symbolize drops of dew and reveal Lee’s increasing interest in the natural world, “the most talented artist,” he said.
Like much abstract art, the works are somewhat difficult to penetrate unless given a clear guide as to what the artist is attempting. Fortunately, the title of each piece gives a hint as to the works’ multiple meanings.
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