Design Concept:

This piece belongs to Loretta H. Yang’s signature series “Formless, But Not Without Form,” which is based on the Diamond Sutra and her personal insights into life. The natural color vein patterns and bubbles formed in the glass during the production process are used to convey the Buddhist concept of impermanence. Understanding the evanescent nature of all phenomena makes life seem like a tiny bubble in a translucent universe, ushering in the unbounded freedom that comes with the transcendence of both being and nonbeing. In view of the impermanence of life, every moment is precious. With the wisdom of “signlessness” we come to see that attachment to any aspect of conditioned phenomena is the root cause of all suffering; overcoming this discrimination engenders insight into the nonduality of self and other, underscoring our connection with all living beings. Yang has developed a glasswork technique which gives full expression to the richness of Eastern philosophy. Inspired by the cardinal virtues of wisdom and compassion, and utilizing an artistic language which combines substance and emptiness, her work reflects the passage in the Diamond Sutra which reads, “All conditioned things are like a dream, an illusion, a bubble, a shadow.” This piece was produced using a combination of lost-wax casting (pâte de verre) and hot-pour casting. First, a Buddha image formed through pâte de verre is heated and placed within a sand mold. Next, molten glass is poured into the same mold, sealed, and left to set. The result is a chimerical image enclosed in transparent glass, producing a poetic effect suggestive of the ephemeral nature of the world. In 2017 this piece was acquired by the Museum of Decorative Arts (Musée des Arts Décoratifs) in Paris, becoming the first acquisition of Chinese glass art in its century-old collection. More than merely the masterful execution of the lost-wax casting technique, each piece produced by Yang is a manifestation of her sense of mission, philosophy of life, and insight into the teachings of Buddhism.

此作品為楊惠姍藝術家「無相無無相」的系列作品之一，藝術家以對《金剛經》的佛學理念，加上自己對人生的感悟，以琉璃製作中自然的琉紋和氣泡來表達生命的變化無常。生命的虛妄短瞬，彷彿宇宙中的小小氣泡，在似透非透的四方空間裡，頓悟非有非空的自在無礙。生命既然無常, 當下分秒即是珍寶。無相，就是看到一切「相」，是一切苦的緣起，希望排除心中之「相」的區別心，天下一切生命與我無二。慈悲智慧，提供了楊惠姍豐富的靈感，她不斷的實驗，以玻璃的特質，創造了一個東方哲學的影像的隱喻，她一方面詮譯佛經金剛經的「一切有為法如夢幻泡影」，一方面又提供了一個「既實又虛」的玻璃藝術的語言。此作品運用複鑄法，結合 脫蠟鑄造 和 熱澆鑄 的一種技法，把事先已脫蠟鑄造好的佛像，預熱之後，安放在沙模之中，然後澆入融化玻璃液，再次封住，凝固。透過玻璃的透明澄澈，楊惠姍讓這些若隱似現的形象，產生一種詩意又富哲理的變幻。此系列作品，成為楊惠姍的代表作品，2017年法國裝置藝術博物館，特為收藏，成為該博物館第一次收藏華人琉璃藝術作品。所有的創作是她面對生命的態度，以及對於佛教哲學領悟到的一個轉化。琉璃塊、制模、脫臘、鑄造等技法，不單單是完成一件藝術品的工藝製造法，而是在楊惠姍手中，實踐她的精神狀態，意志堅決的，存在的人生哲學。