Shen Lieyi

不同形式和规模的“天梯”是沈烈毅向自然致敬、希望进一步和自然建立亲密对话的又一试验。自古以来，人神可以相互对话、往来，天梯即是人神互动的一个通道。犹太人曾想凭借巴别塔上天，中国人则借助高山和大树。各国传说中天梯的形式各不相同，但通天的愿望一致。在中国，尤其近代的落后和惨痛遭遇导致了人们对科学对现代化的渴望，以及对打破旧有社会的急切心情，以至于几乎一切传统文化都被作为封建残余抛弃和清扫。在庸俗化和肤浅化的唯物主义和科学主义思想的主导下，不可见的世界被遮蔽，中国人失去了以往天人合一的和谐状态，以及和自然对话的能力。艺术创作因其非理性的想象而生动，它是人类重建精神自由的方式，沈烈毅希望借竹梯/天梯的创作重建人和自然的对话。

The "Stairway to Heaven" in different forms and scales is another experiment of Shen Lieyi to pay tribute to nature and to further establish an intimate dialogue with nature. Since ancient times, humans and gods have been able to talk and communicate with each other, and the Stairway to Heaven is a channel for human-god interaction. The Jews tried to reach the sky with the Tower of Babel, while the Chinese used mountains and trees. The form of the ladder varies from country to country, but the desire to reach heaven is the same. In China, the backwardness and misery of the modern era in particular led to a desire for science and modernization, and an eagerness to break with the old society, so much so that almost all traditional culture was abandoned and purged as a remnant of feudalism. Dominated by vulgarized and superficial materialistic and scientistic ideas, the unseen world was obscured and the Chinese lost their former state of harmony between heaven and man, and their ability to dialogue with nature. Art creation is vivid because of its irrational imagination, and it is the way for human beings to rebuild their spiritual freedom. Shen Lieyi hopes to rebuild the dialogue between human beings and nature through the creation of bamboo ladder/sky ladder.

创作理念 Artwork Concept

像《雨》系列，他以坚硬粗犷的花岗岩来表现柔美温润的水， 两种极端表现融合在同一载体上，让人产生一种强烈的视觉对比与反差。在中国传统文化中，“水”象征至阴至柔，而“石”象征至阳至刚，“刚柔并济”正是道家学说中一个蕴含丰富哲理的观点。水至柔， 却滋养、灌溉万物， 利之不尽， 其用无穷。至柔亦是至刚，“水”的意象也由此升华。注重人与自然的统一，艺术与生活的统一，一直是沈烈毅在创作中追求的目标。在“水”的系列作品中，沈烈毅希望传递出一份宁静、空灵、淡然的禅意。希望观者能感受到其中点滴思索和关怀，疲惫煩躁的心灵得到抚慰，轻安与欢喜。

Shen Lieyi uses rough granite to express the elegance and peace of water in his "Rain" series, which is the challenge of fusing two extremes within one medium. This combination between material and the concept entails a strong visual contrast. In traditional Chinese culture, water symbolizes the principle of yin and softness, while stone symbolizes yang and hardness. One of the rich insights of Daoism is that 'hardness and softness compensate for each other. As the extremity of softness, water moistens all things; its benefits are inexhaustible; its uses are unlimited. Nevertheless, too extreme a softness can lead to hardness. This quote best expresses how the imagery of "Rain" has arisen. The unification of humanity with nature, or art with life, are goals Shen Lieyi consistently works towards in all his creative acts. Through the "Rain" series, Shen Lieyi hopes to communicate Chan's serene, liberated, and plain state (or Zen in the better-known Japanese pronunciation). Moreover, the artist trusts viewers will sense a hint of this philosophical meditation in his work and that this will bring their exhausted and constricted minds to some sense of ease, comfort, and joy.