Premio Combat Prize

Work Title: Standing Egg
Medium: Stainless Steel Sculpture
Sculpture Dimensions: L: 31cm/ W: 31cm/H: 40cm
Date Created: 2009
Description:
Eggs will bring new life. Once given the spirit and strength, it would be standing、moving and walking……; The other point is the artist was fascinated by the nature of the material which reflects the worlds through the stainless steel mirror surface, and makes the sculpture falling upon vitality into both inside and outside of the work.
Work Title: Before a baby comes out of its mother’s body
Medium: Bronze Sculpture Installation
Sculpture Dimensions: Dia: 52cm/H: 68cm per piece
Date Created: 2011-2014
Description:
In childhood we often ask some questions about ”Where do we come from?”, ”How do we come to here?” When we grew up and watch our next generation was born, we might be thinking about the formation of a baby, and will be overwhelmed by this mysterious and great process. Here Wenqin uses the 10 pieces of sculpture show the great formation of life in the maximum possibility.
Work Title: Up Side Down
Medium: Bronze Sculpture Installation
Sculpture Dimensions: L: 300cm/W: 300m/H: 450cm
Date Created: 2007
Description:
From ancient Chinese proverb “The bird roost does not where to be possible to seek; the fallen leaf does not where to go back to.” I am thinking the most intrepid ecology sometimes is very frail; it can be destroyed by people felling and destroying tree. This is the very funny and humorous matter, but this could be also very Serious and confirmable.
Work Title: Specimen
Medium: Tobacco, Toughened Glass, Stainless Steel Installation
Sculpture Dimensions: L: 400cm/W: 60m/H: 220cm
Date Created: 2007
Description:
In a transparent glass square box there are about 600,000 cigarettes. On the black pedestal there are many smoked cigarettes. All the cigarette in the box, because of the time, tobacco was changing: Damp, moldy, and blackening, has a qualitative change, in turn, the question mark for the issues of cigarettes and human life.
Wenqin Chen was born in 1979 in Fujian，China，where he studied at Art & Design School of Fuzhou University during 1995-1999．In Sep.1999 he moved and studied at Academy of Art and Design，Tsinghua University in Beijing before going abroad for a MA degree in the Winchester School of Art，Southampton University in UK．He is based on Chinese culture and understanding of the West，began to pursue and explore art．
Since 2000’s，Wenqin has used Chinese Calligraphy、sculpture and installation to explore the relationship between life、art and their diversity．He created the work ＂Human Civilization、Spirit and Strength＂(2004 MA final degree show)．Wenqin’s work is to explore and unearth the beings of life，to dissect the current tensions and human experience，and develops an unacceptable idea in his thinking of our living environment．The theme series work of ＂Color of Life＂He points out：＂When we recognize the resource is a luxury we will cherish it＂．One of the works was entitled in the Sun：＂The world at one o’clock＂is an installation work of 600,000 cigarettes＂Specimens＂(2007) which combined the aesthetics of conceptualism．(1) 　＂Up Side Down＂(2007)，it is a work describing ecological crisis and end of life．This work has won the runner up of the 4th showdown at Saatchi gallery in 2009．
While continuing to explore the life cycle Wenqin was thinking the origin thing．He used the baby’s form to create some of his most important series．For instance the installations work of ＂Your Turn＂(2008)．He explained：＂In its existence and competition there are appearing the great life＂. In his second year (2009)，he created the work of ＂Standing Egg＂which realize his thinking of：＂Should we be able to think ahead of the origin of life，that advance our understanding of life cycle combines the aesthetics of minimalism，as simple as an egg＂．This is one of the most enduring objects he performs until now．Meanwhile he creates and designs many series from an egg，for instance，the＂Endless Curve＂(2010) won the Public Speaks at the Broomhill National Sculpture Prize in 2011 UK．
In 2011 Wenqin began to laterally explore the life．It is a process of combination and regeneration．He was fascinated slowly by mysterious and strength of this process．Work of “Before a baby come out of its mother’s body” (2011-June 2014)．The 10 pieces of sculpture show the great formation of life in the maximum possibility．In the theme work of ＂A tribute to motherhood＂，drawing、painting、sculpture、installation and video all together to state the life cycle and its eternity．
Since 2001 Wenqin has been thinking the topics of life，also proving and building the eternity of it．To continue to explore and unearth the life would be his task in the next years．
(1)．Title ＂The world at one o’clock＂．＂As you tuck into your lunch here’s the pictures making a splash this afternoon．A young girl poses in front of a glass box containing over 600,000 cigarettes in Xiamen，China.．Artist Chen Wenqin created the display to remind the people of the dangers of smoking．＂(on May 28 2007，the Sun)