Before a Baby Comes out Of Its Mother’s Body (10 sculptures), 2015
Wenqin Chen

"All things are curving" is Chen Wenqin’s artistic creation philosophy.

Chen Wenqin has always been concerning about the themes of space, time, and life. Modern cosmological theory holds that there is no time in the universe, and there is no time to speak of, just like the sculpture "All things are curving" (2009). It is just like a standing egg, with a stainless steel mirror surface reflecting everything in the universe, and it is the universe. Boundless, without a beginning or an end, without a starting point or an ending symbol, it always stays there in its own state, regardless of time. But it tells us that the only function is that all things refracted are curved; It also tells us that it occupies space at this moment.

Where there is substance, there is space. When substance moves, time is the movement of substance and also records the trajectory of its movement. Human beings have this definition of space and time for their movement. In the "Time Continues in the Space of Movement" (2010) series of sculpture works, Chen Wenqin named each piece with English gerunds to convey the eternal movement of substance. Time records the infinite trajectory of spatial movement in the form of sculpture, and they will continue to move without an end. This is an eternal state of time and space.

Chinese Tai Chi is an infinite cycle of reincarnation from nothingness to existence and from existence to nothingness. This echoes Einstein's understanding of the time structure, where the speed of time passing is different in different places, so the structure of time is not orderly, but can be distorted and disordered. The sculpture works of the "Distorted Time" (2023) series, following the movement of substance and the produce of time, make time distorted. Through the twisting and flipping of planar substance from outside in or inside out, presenting a free and dynamic sculptural form. Sculpture accumulates time in a flipped surface, where time gathers and is enveloped, giving a sense of sealing time. However, time seems to still flow through the cracks of the sculpture. "The Shape of Time" (2019) and "Wrapping Time" (2022) further present the structure and state of time.

Time exists in events rather than objects, and is used to record the development and changes of events. It is not only a point or a line, but also a surface. The movement of substance requires the action of external forces to drive the generation of events and their multidimensional development, while time also records the trajectory of event movement in multiple dimensions. As Aristotle said, "Time is merely a measure of change". The flowing time is divided by event fragments, but there is a relationship of mutual promotion, distortion, and dependence between each other. The "Superimposition of Time" (2024) series of sculpture works record the relationship between events in the form of sculptures.

On the other hand, for the movement law of time, it is the accumulation of repetition, and the increment of time is always positive. So "repetition and positive numbers" became an important language focus in the "Time Net" series of oil paintings (2018). Human beings create time, and time rules humans. Time records and weaves together every event, bending and disorderly, repeatedly interweaving, stacking and covering, fully demonstrating the functional structure of time. There is also the "Horizon" series of works (2022).

Space comes from substance, time comes from space, all things come from time. Time endows all things in the world. In order to record the trajectory of substance movement, humans have time and a clock to record movement. By recording the Earth rotates around the Sun, there is a distinction between the four seasons, day and night, the survival and continuation of life, and the order of events such as the blooming and withering of flowers. I attempt to use a series of art works such as "Beautiful Evolution" (2008), "Complete Process" (2007), and "Introspection" (2021) to showcase the survival movement of organisms and the significance of time existence for humanity itself. For each of us, time is used to record every event that happens to us, as well as the interrelationships between events. Therefore, artist created the "Stories in Stories" (2015) series of oil paintings, and the curves in the paintings represent artist's understanding of the survival movement and life of living beings. And the sculpture series "Communication" (2021) and "Fusion" (2023) showcase the story structure of each individual. Just as it happens to us personally, stories are all interconnected, touching and colliding with each other, blending cognitive, emotional, and attitudinal tendencies together.