Stone artist
Li, Chi-Man
Taiwan / Male
Li, Chi-Man
Li, Chi-Man
- CV
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1985 Great Award at 1st Sculpture Competition by Taipei Fine Arts Museum, R.O.C Taiwan 1986 Merit Award at 2nd Sculpture Competition by Taipei Fine Arts Museum R.O.C Taiwan1993 1st Prize at International Stone Sculpture Competition “Great Harmony” by The Council for Cultural Affairs
- Introduction
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Mr. Chi-Wen Li said that there were two reasons that he loved stone sculpture. One reason was that stone sculpture was different from other stone creation. Like the remains from ancient civilization, stone sculptures were made of stone and had existed for a long time. Since stones were so closely related to human history, Li loved stone sculpture so much. The other reason was about his temper. He was such a straightforward person and did not bother about trifles, which was pretty like the rough feature of stones. That was another key reason to explain why he loved stones.Li is an overseas Chinese student from Hong Kong and also a teacher in Taipei National University of the Arts. He said that he first experienced stone sculpture when he was studying at junior college of the arts at age 18; it was then when he was so obsessed with stone sculpture. After graduation, he then spent the latter half of 1973 being engaged in stone sculpture at Henraux Marble Company in Carrara, Italy. Henraux Marble Company was a very big state factory, part of which produced monumental sculptures and also helped well-known sculptors with their art works. During his stay at Henraux, not only did Li get to know a lot of well-known sculptors from the world, but he also learned a lot about skills. In addition, he befriended friends from different countries and had accordingly broadened his horizon. He noticed that while creating art with people with various backgrounds, a sculptor would have a stronger sense of identity and self-awareness for his root. Among people of various nationalities, one had to try to preserve his own taste and style, which would finally result in more creative art works. Li said that his early works usually had connection with Chinese character words and the meaning from pictographic characters maybe because he was seeking in the inner-most world a sense of belong as well as a sense of identity. Doing the creation together with friends of various nationalities in Italy also helped arouse unexpected inspirations. Therefore, he was the first person who proposed the idea of symposium in Taiwan. In 1989, he invited sculptors from the Netherlands, the United States, Korea and Japan to the Symposium in Tainan.