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This is a Chinese name; the family name is Li. Li Xiuqin(Chinese: 李秀勤；pinyin: Li Xiuqin( born November 23, 1953) is a Chinese contemporary sculptor and a professor, the Co-Director of the 4th Studio of Sculpture Department of China Academy of Art, CAA, Hangzhou. She currently lives and works in Hangzhou, China[1].
Biography[edit]
Li Xiuqin was born in Qingdao, Shandong Province, China. In 1982, she received her Bachelor’s degree from Sculpture Department, Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts, Hangzhou（now the China Academy of Art, CAA. She began to work in CAA as a teacher in sculpting after the graduation. From 1988 to 1991, she researched in Slade School of Fine Art, UK and studied for her Master’s degree in Sculpture Department, Manchester Metropolitan University, UK on scholarship from UK Cultural Exchange Committee.
Early life[edit]
In 1985, not satisfying with the only way of clay modeling in CAA, Li went to the small metal factory in Hangzhou to find the material and welder to make several metal welding sculptures. With her sculptures, she participated in The First Teacher Exhibition in the Sculpture Department in CAA, which enlarged her vision for metal materials. Assisted by her husband Guo Lianxun, Li started to work in bigger metal factory to produce more metal welding works. The works produced in this period brought her the chance to study in UK.
Major works[edit]
Sense of Touch - Concave-convex
Li’s best-known works were shown in her first solo exhibition the Sense of Touch - Concave-convex in CAA Art Space, Hangzhou, China in 1993. The inspiration for the works in this exhibition is from her experience of a disease - Rheumatic fever she got when she was on a research team to the northeast part of China，which almost cost her eyesight. Li began to study braille at that time. Due to her experience, her artistic thinking began to focus on the blind people and the process and way of the perception of braille. Her artistic practice is from amplifying, deconstructing and remodeling the elements in the braille. 15 works with the common element of braille made of different materials such as stone, iron, bronze, and plaster were included in this exhibition. Blind kids were invited to touch the works and experience this exhibition.
“Open” series
“After the Sense of Touch - Concave-convex exhibition, I was using the “open” perspective to observe things, thinking over the form and structure in my works, which comes from the concave and convex of the braille. ” said Li Xiuqin. Since the later part of 1993, Li produced the works Open The Earth, Open The Memory and Open The Space. In 1999, she was invited to make a piece of works in Washington State University, WSU, USA, and she made Opening the Secret. "Opening the Secret," by artist Li Xiuqin, is a rock sculpture created from volcanic basalt native to the Pacific Northwest region. Large stones are arranged to resemble huge books and split open to reveal secret messages in American and Chinese Braille portrayed through concave openings and bronze rods. The sculpture was formally dedicated on July 14, 1999 and is located behind the campus library. "The process of translating these touchable messages becomes a bridge uniting visual and sight-impaired people," said Li Xiuqin.
References[edit]
http://www.chinaacademyofart.com/szdw/zjjs/ http://www.ilcastellodiaglie.it/eng/attivita/eventi/2008/artisti/xiuqin.htm http://site.douban.com/137547/widget/photos/6287131/photo/1848147107/#next_photo http://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/community/opening-secret