生命之树，硕果累累

保罗·拉斯特

陈长伟自1999年起即开始在联展中展出其艺术作品， 至今已获得多个艺术奖项．尽管那时距离他从昆明的云南艺术学院雕塑系毕业还有一年时间，但他在不同时期作品的创作，就如同他的标志性雕塑《生命树》那样，慢慢地稳步地生长着，同时又在不断的更新．生命树是这位艺术家反复使用的主题，它扎根于中国，但其枝叶已开始向全球各地伸展。

陈长伟说：“艺术创作是纯精神的产物”这种创造精神深深扎根于他的灵魂，在他的思想和心灵中生根发芽，更生动地体现在他的作品中。陈长伟在每次创作新作品时总是由一个深思熟虑的构想着手，但又非常注重作品本身创作过程所带来的灵感, “反正是慢慢的一点一点的就都变了，而这种变化是自然形成的，不是刻意的”。他这样说道。

陈长伟将写实与抽象揉捏在一起，就像大厨为一个重要的场合准备佳肴一样：每一道独立的菜都赏心悦目，而又能构成一场怡人的盛宴。在作品《我与生肖》中，陈长伟为之后无数梦幻般的作品定下了基调。那个树型、多头、雌雄同体的神，是用玻璃纤维浇铸，并且在表面喷浇了诱人的红色，脱离了传统上对于生命之树故事的表现。他按照自己的想法对中国十二生肖作了改动，重新组合了这些生肖，用鹰取代了鸡，  用象取代了猪。他用双手改写并重排并重写了历史。通过自身行动，陈长伟进入了新生代艺术家的行列——这些艺术家们从互联网中汲取营养，以国际化的视角保持动力。

《婚配》系列中，动物的头部相连，并且运用了中、法、德、意、英、美国旗的颜色，从而对传统神圣动物的表现进行了进一步处理。袋鼠从身着中山装的大象头中傲然探头而出，而整个雕塑又以美国的星条旗作以装饰。一头豹与白头鹰交缠在一起，如一条盘蛇似地将其伸长的脖颈绕住穿着制服的白头鹰。它们高贵而超脱尘世的面貌因红、白、绿三色意大利国旗的装饰而得到强调。还有一头身披英国国旗的雌性达尔马提亚犬，与一头矜持的鳄鱼背部相依——这是一对富有浪漫诗意的异国爱侣。

生命树是陈长伟不断采用的一个令人难忘的主题，几乎在各种文化中，它都具有非常重要的代表性。这棵树在地下生根、在天上伸枝布叶，可以说生活在三个世界里——天国，人间，还有地狱．宇宙中的树象征着创造和生长。陈长伟的树从超现实的树——扭曲的树于上夸张地生长着女性的乳房和突出的静脉——到神秘的树——树干伸直后生芽长出的却是动物的头部等等，不一而足。他最新的树作品《生命树4》，是一棵抽象、凹凸不平的树，在其树枝上悬挂着三块色泽健康的土块。其起伏的黄色表面令人赏心悦目，难以忘怀。

陈长伟模式型，有机的结构形式普遍存在于他所有的新作品中，这种形式将原本可辨认的物体和形象本质加以精彩地抽象化。《书》和《打开的书》揭示了陈长伟在许多雕塑作品中所展现的对智慧的渴求。(书是象征学者的八种中国元素之一，代表着学习。)《打开的书》因其对抽象概念的精彩注释而变得尤其引人入胜，仿佛全人类的知识和智慧都被施了魔法一般，瞬间定格在其书页中。

陈长伟的《金苹果》是希腊人不朽的象征，中国和平的代表，它的比例非常完美。紫白相间的《云》截取了神灵所展现的自然一面，在中国民间传说中代表着吉祥如意。同样的，《骷髅》(大于现实中的尺寸，为对死亡的诗意诠释)在闪耀着戏剧和烁金光彩的银色面具下熠熠生辉。而在汉语中作为人类永恒主题的《爱》则成为一个多情男子正义与智慧的双重象征。

陈长伟的最近一些作品在他手中变成了抽象的土块，几件新的象征性作品则对过去进行了后现代主义的修饰。《亚历山大》使经典雕塑——亚历山大大帝的头部得以复活，这是一个以类似陶瓷及玻璃制品的玻璃纤维浇灌而成的发泡作品。《情侣》即兴模仿了著名的美国艺术家Jeff Koons及其意大利情人Cicciolina的半身像——一个不朽的拥抱．但是，真正的集大成之作却是雕塑《毛在2005))：此红色光亮的中国领袖半身像已与AndyWarhol、王广义、张宏图及其他伟大当代艺术家所创造的肖仪井架齐驱。

从神秘的过去跃入繁华的现代社会——陈长伟准备迎接未来。

保罗· 拉斯特：艺术家、策展人及作家，定居纽约，为Artkrush．com编辑，《亚大艺术》(An Asiapacific)特约编辑，Boldtype．com艺术与摄影编辑，经常为Artnet．com、Art inAmerica、Tema Celeste和Time Out New York供稿．

The Tree of Life Bears Fruit

By Paul Laster

Although he has been exhibiting his art in group shows and gathering artistic honours since 1999一a year before he  graduated from the Sculpture  Department at the Yunnan Arts Institute in Kunming—Chen Changwei’s body Of work has developed over time like symbolic Tree of life sculptures: growing slow and Steady while continually being renewed．The tree Of Life，a recurring theme for the artist，has its roots in China, but its branches are beginning to have an international reach．

“Artwork is a product of pure spirit，”says Chen．That creative spirit grows deep within his soul．It takes root in his mind and in his heart，and willingly comes to life in his work．Chen begins each new piece with a conceived concept, but pays intuitive attention to the needs of the work；as it develops．“All in all, the work changes gradually little by little，not in an intended way, but in a natural way,”says the artist.

Chen mixes representation and abstraction like a master chef  preparing for a significant occasion: each serving is enjoyable in its own right yet together the courses create a delectable feast. In Zodiac Figures and Me, Chen sets the stage for the numerous dream-like works that follow. His tree-like, multi-headed, androgynous deity-cast in fiberglass and seductively spray-painted shades of red-takes liberties with the traditional representation of the tree of life tale. Adapting the twelve suns of the Chinese zodiac to his own point of view, Chen rearranges the characters, so that the rooster turns into an eagle and the pig becomes an elephant. History in his hands is regenerated, remixed and rewritten. Through his actions Chen aligns himself with a new generation of artists-ones that are nourished by the Internet and fueled by a global vision.

The Marriage Series further manipulates the traditional portrayal of sacred animals by joining them head-to-head and by adorning them with the colours of the national flags of China, France, A kangaroo proudly grows out of the head of a tusked that’s wearing a Mao suit and the figure is decorated in the stars and stripes of the American standard . A leopard is intertwined with a bald eagle- wrapping his stretched neck around the uniformed body of the eagle like an embracing snake. Their noble, otherworldly appearance is accentuated by the varying red, white and green stripes of Italian colours. And a female Dalmatina, which is festooned with the Union Jack, aligns itself back-to-back with a reserved crocodile- an international couple with poetic associations.

The Tree of Life is a imposing subject to which Chen persistently returns. It is a significant symbol in nearly every culture. With its roots deep in the ground and its branches reaching into the sky. It lives in three worlds: heaven, earth and the underworld. The cosmic tree is a metaphor for creation and a symbol of growth．Chen''s trees range from a surreal，twisting trunk that sports female breasts and bulging veins to mytho1ogical trees that sprout the heads of animals，as the branches grow erect．His most recent tree，Tree of Life 4，is an abstract，lumpy growth with three healthy clamps hanging heavily on its branches．Its rippled，yellow surface delights the eye and engages the mind．

Chen''s form of a modeled，organic texture is prevalent in a11 of his new works．It beautifully abstracts the nature of his otherwise recognisable objects and figures．Book and Open Book reveal the quest for wisdom found in many of the artist''s sculptures．(The b00k is one of the eight Chinese emblems of the scholar and represents 1earaing．) Open Book is particularly amusing for its glistening presentation of the abstract-as though all of man’s knowledge was magically captured on its open pages.

Chen''s golden apple, a symbol of innortality to the Greeks and an icon of peace in China,is perfect in its proportions while his purple and white cloud-emblematic of fortune and happiness in Chinese folklore- simulates a precious bit of nature delivered by the gods. Likewise Skull (a larger than life, poetic interpretation of mortality) sparkles in its silver masquerade of theatrical and alchemical power. And Love, the eternal topic of mankind- spelled out in the Chinese alphabet- becomes both a righteous symbol and a witty, two- dimensional representation of an amorous male.

Several recent works become abstract 1umps of mud in the hands of their creator and a few new figurative pieces take on the postmodernist quality of enlivening both ancient and contemporary pasts. Alexander revives a famous c1assical sculpture—the head Of Alexander the Great—as a bubbly mass of cast fiberglass resembling ceramic and glass sculpture．lovers riffs on a celebrated Jeff Koons bust Of the American artist and his lover, the Italian porn-star Cicciolina，caught in an eternal embrace. But it is the sculpture Mao in2005 that brings it all home：Chen''s glossy red bust Of the revered Chinese leader joins the global iconography Of Andy Warhol，Wang Guangyi，Zhang Hongtu and other great contemporary artists

Making a leap from the mythological past to the pop present, Chen Changwei is ready for the future.

 Paul Laster is an artist, curator and writer living in New York. He is the editor of Artkrush .com, a contributing editor at Art AsiaPacific, and art and photography editor for Boldtype. Com. He has been a frequent contributor to Artner.com, Art in America, Tema Celeste and Time Out New York.