Cai Zhisong's sculptures inspire thoughts on life

An attendant (Head), 2009, by Cai Zhisong. [Photo by Bi Nan/chinadaily.com.cn]

"Love, is like all other things, which you can never see its real face. It's not always the same as you imagine or see with your eyes. Love, like the blooming plumbum rose, only people holding it can truly feel it." Cai Zhisong, the noted sculptor, said.

Cai's sculpture Rose series features a combination of plumbum and rose, which expresses the artist's understanding of love. "Plumbum, as a special material, glossy but quiet, soft but heavy, plastic but fragile, stable but poisonous, and rose, known to all, is a symbol of love", Cai said at his solo exhibition in Beijing.

In the exhibition, three series of Cai's artwork are shown to the public, Rose, Homeland and Clouds. The Homeland series is mainly about history and humanity, and the Clouds series tells about life.

Through the Clouds series, Cai said he wants to tell the public that the meaning of life is not only about the process, but also the results.

"If we only seek the process of our life instead of thinking about the consequence, we will regret it one day in the future", Cai said.

"Many people think that life is only a process, but it's not. If we ignore results, then when we see how things turn out to be, we will be fearful. So if we properly pay attention to the results in advance, life will be different."

This exhibition is the first after the opening of the Rose Rock art club in Beijing on Oct 22. The club, initiated by Steven Rockfeller Jr., a fifth generation member of the Rockefeller family, and established by the Rose Rock Culture Group, will provide high-end services for artists, art collectors and other people in the field.

Cai Zhisong, as a famous sculptor, has exhibited his works around the world. In 2001, he was given the Taylor Prize at the Paris Autumn Salon when he was 29 and in 2012 he was selected for the global "100 Art Leaders" by Art Actuel in France.

His works have been sold at the highest recorded prices among domestic sculptors in the global auction market three times.