Loretta H.S. Yang - the Name Heard Around the Word

Life Philosophy of the Liuli Flowers

Loretta H.S. Yang
- Pioneer of the Chinese Liuli Art Movement

In 2007, one of New York’s top modern glass art galleries Leo Kaplan Modern introduced the city to a name from the East: Loretta H.S. Yang.

Leo Kaplan Modern has exhibited the works of artists also found in the collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Smithsonian Institution, Musee des Arts Decoratifs and Victoria & Albert Museum. In 2007, they presented the exhibition Intersection featuring the art of William Carlson, Steven Weinberg and Yang. Carlson and Weinberg are founders of the American Studio Glass Movement in the 60s; Yang is responsible for the revival of Chinese liuli and development of contemporary Chinese liuli art.

In attendance on opening day was Corning Museum of Glass Curator of Modern Glass Tina Oldknow, Museum of Arts and Design Chief Curator David McFadden, Urban Glass Executive Director Dawn Bennett, Glass Magazine representatives and noted art critics.

杨惠姗，
华人世界琉璃艺术运动先锋

2007 年，美国纽约的歷史中，印记着一个来自东方的名字：杨惠姗。

美国纽约最重要的现代琉璃艺廊 Leo Kaplan Modern， 在纽约麦迪森大道有三十年的歷史，在这个艺廊展出的艺术家， 全是大都会博物馆 (Metropolitan Museum of Art)， 史密森尼博物馆 (Smithsonian  Institution)， 法国装饰艺术博物馆 (Musee des Arts Decoratifs Paris) ， 英国维多利亚与亚伯特博物馆 (V&A Museum) 所收藏的重要艺术家。

2007 年由该艺廊举办 「INTERSECTION」 展， 展出的艺术家共三人： William Carlson， Steven Weinberg， 另一位则是杨惠姗。 William Carlson 和 Steven Weinberg 是 1960 美国 studio glass 运动先锋大师级人物，他们两个人的名字等于 「美国工作室玻璃艺术」， 这也是该艺廊第一次出现东方风格的琉璃艺术作品， 对于一手开闢东方华人世界琉璃艺术运动的杨惠姗而言， 更是一个重要的里程碑。

展览开幕当天， 纽约各大重要博物馆代表人物皆出席， 美国康宁玻璃博物馆 〈 Corning Museum of Glass 〉 Tina Oldknow 女士、美国纽约艺术与设计博物馆 〈 Museum of Art & Design 〉 主席策展人 David Mcfadden 先生、 纽约Urban Glass 玻璃艺术推广机构执行总监 Dawn Bennett 女士， 以及玻璃艺术专业的 Glass 杂志编辑与专业艺评家。 

 Chinese Liuli Takes New York

Corning Museum of Glass curator Tina Oldknow acquired Proof of Awareness on behalf of the museum at the opening ceremony. She said, “I had previously seen pictures. But its energy and power can only be felt by seeing it in person. Pictures do not do Loretta’s work justice. From both technical and creative aspects, her work in liuli raises glass art to a new level.”

The Corning Museum of Glass is the longest standing glass museum in the United States. It is a global powerhouse for the professional study, research and promotion of glass art with a permanent collection of over 45,000 pieces spanning across 35 centuries. Its collection is a comprehensive documentation chronicling the development, breakthroughs and history of glass. Yang’s addition to the museum’s collection signals her impact not only as a Chinese artist but as an international one. Proof of Awareness was also acquired by the Museum of Arts and Design.

轰动纽约！华人琉璃艺术史上的里程碑

开幕当天， 纽约康宁玻璃艺术博物馆馆长 Tina Oldknow， 立刻以美国康宁玻璃艺术博物馆的名义， 收藏杨惠姗展出的作品之一 《澄明之悟》。 她说： 「我先前看过照片； 但是， 亲眼看见作品， 才感觉它令人震憾的力量。 杨惠姗的作品完全不是照片所能传达。 杨惠姗的作品， 不论是技术上或者创意上， 为琉璃艺术界跨越了新的高度。」

美国康宁博物馆， 作为全世界最权威、 最专业， 歷史最悠久的美国玻璃博物馆， 含括45000多件收藏品、 前后跨越35个世纪， 完整呈现了人类玻璃工艺发展至今的重大突破与歷史脉络。 杨惠姗的作品被该博物馆典藏， 代表了她的创作， 不仅仅是东方华人现代琉璃的重要艺术家， 更是全世界琉璃艺术创作中的重要里程碑。

在康宁博物馆之后， 美国纽约艺术与设计博物馆也表达希望收藏 《澄明之悟》。 在全世界上美国最重要的， 最专业的玻璃艺术与设计两家博物馆， 在短短不到一个星期内争相收藏杨惠姗这朵盛开的透明无色的巨型牡丹； 此项纪录， 至今无人能及。 

The Proof of Awareness
A Permanent Bloom in New York City

An Asian Name Found in World Renowned Museums

For her Proof of Awareness collection, Loretta H. Yang reimagined the peony in exaggerated scale and extracted all color leaving behind a crystal clear flower that reflects the artist’s life philosophy and a key moment in her artistic evolution.

Within the Chan and Buddhist philosophies, suffering and hardship is caused by attachment; and from the void, we gain an understanding that suffering arising from life creates a more compassionate and profound consideration.

Yang said, “Life is brief and difficult, existence is nonexistent. The larger a flower blooms the more its beauty is magnified and the more sorrow and suffering it can bear.” Upon gaining perspective on this life principle, she realized that her flower must be transparent and penetrable by light. For light begets awakening; it is an unveiling of color and release from this mortal life.

Life is impermanent. As it should be.
Is it possible to live more humbly and cherish every present moment?

Within a large sculptural mass, liuli and light interact with complexity through a uniquely Chinese lens that incorporates the Chan understanding of existence. Yang’s sculpture breaks through the confines of contemporary liuli art to proffer a revolutionary new means of communication in glass. Her voice is an important one in the history of contemporary glass art.

《澄明之悟》
在纽约永远绽放

一个华人艺术家的名字进入世界级的博物馆

杨惠姗在 《澄明之悟》 系列的创作中， 巨大的花朵， 把所有的色彩全部抽出， 留给每一件作品澄澈透明的样貌， 是她思考生命也是创作歷程的另外一个阶段。 

在禅与佛家的哲学中， 一切的「苦」皆因「无常」， 从「空」与「无」的概念， 对生命的苦产生更慈悲的更深切的观照。 杨惠姗说： 「人生是短暂与痛苦的， 而存在是虚无的。。。 花朵愈大， 愈显完美， 同时也能承载愈多的忧伤苦痛。」 当她透视了生命的本质， 她突然觉得， 花应该是澄澈的， 是穿透的， 在光里觉醒， 对色彩了无罣碍， 对红麈亦无罣碍。

" 生命既是无常， 是否能用更谦卑的心， 珍惜每一个当下？”

尺寸的体积感， 琉璃与光线流动之间的多样复杂感， 加上如此充满东方宇宙生命观的创作， 蕴含禅意与对生命的体会， 在众多欧美现代玻璃艺术家之中， 杨惠姗的作品， 是一种当代琉璃艺术的新超越， 一种充满革命性的新语汇， 这是华人琉璃艺术在现代琉璃艺术史上的重要签名。 

Life Philosophy of the Flower

Despite the impermanence in life,
One must bloom with exuberance.

Master Hsing Yun once said, a flower possesses six spiritual perfections: generosity - the joy a blooming flower brings; principle - a flower does pull on other plants to grow; endurance - of a seed buried in the dark soil, of a flower battered by wind, frost, rain and snow; commitment - a flower offers its scent when its petals open and nutrition as its petals fall in the cycle of life; introspection - in silence and tranquility, a flower blooms; wisdom - transforming, extraordinary, bearer of boundless insight.

The Six Perfections in Buddhism are six dimensions of human character that lead to enlightenment. The life cycle of a flower encapsulates all these stages.

From the philosophical standpoint of Chan and Buddhism, the root of impermanence and life’s suffering is attachment. A flower blooms and wilts, every moment in our lives is a direct confrontation to our existence as we know it. Yet we never stop striving to blossom, to bring beauty into this earth. Yang once said, “The discussion of life need not be esoteric. It can be simple, like a single flower.”

Using flowers as a metaphor for life is a reminder to treat the suffering of life with deeper compassion and understanding. Regardless of how the world around you changes, focusing on kindness will soothe the soul like a beautiful flower. As a form of self-practice, it is a wisdom that encourages the release from suffering and gaining of happiness.  

花的生命思想

即便生命充满无常，
仍要尽情绽放

星云大师说， 一朵花具有六度精神： 「花开带给人欢喜是佈施； 花不攀附其他植物是持戒； 种子在土里忍受黑暗、 花耐住风霜雨雪是忍辱； 花开散布芬芳花谢化作养份， 为继起的生命而生生不息是精进； 花静静地开放， 宁静， 祥和， 安忍是禅定； 花有千变万化， 奇妙不已， 蕴含无限智慧是般若。」

「六度」， 是佛教修行中， 使生命离开烦恼， 安住在喜乐中的六种方法， 花的绽放充满着佛教哲学中的智慧。 

在禅与佛家的哲学观点中， 无常乃生命之苦的根源， 而花开花谢， 无时无刻不面对生命的无常， 但仍奋力开花， 将美好带给人间。 杨惠姗曾说： 「谈生命， 不一定要说的很深奥， 一朵花， 可以说一个生命。」

以花的世界隐喻人的生命，是一种提醒，对生命的苦产生更慈悲的更深切的观照。无论外界环境怎么变，一念向善，让心一如花朵美好，成为一种自我修持，一种离苦得乐的生命智慧。 

Introducing a New Palette for 21st Century Liuli

Sculptors never thought to or could not alter a material’s intrinsic color until artists in 17th century France began toying with the possibility of using color to add motion and life to a static object.

In the 19th century, French sculptors Henri Cros and Auguste Rodin’s experimentation led them to glass. Glass is one of few mediums that can absorb color. Yet in its molten state its fluidity makes the application of color a challenge. This is why experimentation with color placement in glass is one of the greatest journeys a glass artist can take.

Colorful bees, insects, and lizards were commonly represented during the 20th century Art Nouveau period. But what about flowers? Artist Emile Gallé, one of the major forces of French Art Nouveau once said that the colors found in flowers were God’s creations.

Loretta H. Yang approaches liuli art as both sculpture and painting. She believes that color can be applied to liuli the same way it is used in painting. Yet in a 1,400C kiln, what was once solid becomes liquid and what was once defined loses definition as glass and color move through each other. For thirty-two years Yang has experimented with color placement through the pate de verre technique. Breaking through the confines of color limitations in liuli sculpture, Yang has mastered the application of color in her large-scale floral blooms.

The color found in sculpture is not on the surface, it is incorporated into the material itself. Transforming as it interacts with light, sculptural art reaches another dimension through the elements of liuli, light and color.  In the 21st century, color finds new life under Yang’s skilled hands.

开创二十一世纪琉璃颜色新境界

在人类漫长的雕塑歷史上， 几乎没有一种雕塑材质能随艺术家创作色彩。 法国自17世纪开始许多艺术家思考着， 如何让作品更有生命力， 颜色变成一个很重要的层面， 因为 「色彩」 是表达美感的元素之一。 

19 世纪， 法国雕塑家亨利．克罗斯 Henri Cros 和罗丹 Auguste Rodin 透过大量的实验， 不断的摸索， 最后在 「琉璃」 中找到答案。 琉璃是少数可以融入色彩， 又能永久保存的一种雕塑材质， 但高温中的琉璃呈液态流动， 如何精准 「定色」， 成了艺术家新的探索旅程。 仔细观察欧洲新艺术时期中有关 「定色」 的创作， 有蜜蜂， 有昆虫， 有蜥蜴， 偏偏唯独没有花。

Emile Gallé 说过， 花朵的颜色， 是上帝创造的颜色。

琉璃艺术，对杨惠姗来说，是雕塑；也是绘画。她相信琉璃的颜色可以如绘画一样，挥洒自如。然而，1400多度的高温中，滚烫的琉璃浆彷彿有自己意志，随机流动的过程中，影响色彩的位置与变化。32年来，无数次惨烈的挫折，绝望的失败，杨惠姗在脱蜡铸造的基础上，一点点的，摸索粉烧定色的技法，最终，突破琉璃雕塑和颜色的束缚，为盛大的花朵挥洒上丰富的色彩。

雕塑艺术的颜色从材质表面进到材质，随着光影的改变，颜色也随之变化；琉璃、光、色彩三者的融合，为雕塑艺术带来前所未有的丰富生命力。21世纪的「定色」，在艺术家杨惠姗手上，发展出一个全新的境界。 

Loretta H.S. Yang

Liuligongfang Founder / Creative Director
Pioneer and Founder of Contemporary Chinese Liuli Art
Former Honorary Professor at Tsinghua University, Beijing
Guest Professor at Modern Glass Art Museum in Ishikawa, Japan
Guest Professor at CIRVA (Centre International de Recherche sur le Verre et les Arts Plastiques), France
Guest Instructor at The Studio Corning Museum of Glass, New York
Founder of Shanghai Liuli China Museum
Illustrious Actress in Taiwanese Cinema
Two time Golden Horse Best Actress Winner
Asia Pacific Film Festival Best Actress Winner

杨惠姗 Loretta H.S. Yang

琉璃工房 创办人 / 艺术总监
中国现代琉璃艺术奠基人和开拓者
曾任中国北京清华大学美术学院玻璃艺术学系顾问教授
日本石川县能登半岛玻璃美术馆示范教席
法国马赛 CIRVA 玻璃艺术中心任示范教席
美国康宁玻璃博物馆客座授课
上海琉璃艺术博物馆创办人
臺湾电影界着名的表演艺术家
两届臺湾金马奖最佳女主角
亚太影展最佳女主角

Second Act

Loretta H. Yang was one of the premiere actors in 70s Taiwanese cinema. Her starring roles in the seminal films Teenage Fugitive and Kuei-mei, a Woman earned her the Golden Horse award Best Actress trophy for two consecutive years. In the 80s, her work in Jade Love earned her the Best Actress award from the Asia Pacific Film Festival.

An actor’s job is to embody someone else’s life and to come back to your own after filming. For over ten years, Yang went in and out of different lives but the feeling she could never escape was that of unrest. At the height of her career in 1987, Yang left film for liuli. From a tiny workshop in Yinge,Taiwan, she began her second act in the founding of Liuligongfang. At the time, she had no knowledge of sculpting or pate de verre but across three and a half years and NT$75,000,000 (US$2.4 million) later, she willed it into shape. 

亚太影后的华丽转身

杨惠姗， 1970年代臺湾知名电影表演者， 以电影作品 《小逃犯》 和 《我这样过了一生》， 连续两年获得金马奖最佳女主角肯定， 并以 《玉卿嫂》 获得亚太影展最佳女主角殊荣， 为当时臺湾电影界最重要的表演艺术家之一。

电影工作本身， 戏剧情节如梦般投入， 转眼间， 又是真实生活的面对。 十多年的表演事业， 回头， 又是刻骨铭心的不安。 在1987年电影生涯最高峰时， 毅然决然选择了琉璃创作。 从一个莺歌破旧工作室的小沟旁， 开始她生命里一个崭新的学习， 当时， 她连雕塑是怎么一回事都不懂。 琉璃脱蜡铸造法的摸索困难重重， 歷时三年半， 负债七千五百万台币， 最困难的时候， 身上连一颗茶叶蛋的钱都没有。

Chinese Liuli Faces the World

Across film and liuli, Loretta H. Yang has reached into the depths of life to confront the hardship and fear of birth, ageing, sickness, death, wanting what one can not have, facing what one does not want and loss of love. Poet Bai Juyi penned, “Like scattered clouds, the fragility of liuli.” The beauty and ephemerality of liuli makes it the ideal medium to convey the concept of impermanence. With liuli as her stage, she explores life through sculpture.

Borrowing from her training as an actor, Yang imbues the craft of pate de verre with humanistic and philosophical sensibilities. She revived the ancient lost art of Chinese liuli and introduced contemporary liuli art to a global audience to widespread acclaim. She strives to elevate people and culture through liuli and to find her own voice through the process. From Taiwan to the world, Yang is a unique voice from the east in the forum of liuli art.  

From Movie Star to Liuli Artist

For thirty-two years, the artist’s work has travelled across Europe to Asia to the Americas; her liuli sculptures can be found in the permanent collections of 19 internationally renowned museums. Since her groundbreaking exhibition at Leo Kaplan Modern in 2007, her voice as a Chinese liuli artist has made a profound impact in the realm of contemporary glass art worldwide. Her guest instructor stint at the Corning Museum of Glass in 2010 made her the first female Chinese artist to hold that position.

Loretta H. Yang - the Chinese name heard around the world. 

代表东方琉璃艺术，向世界发声

从电影到琉璃，杨惠姗反覆且深刻地体认生命深处，充满无穷的颠沛和恐惧；生、老、病、死，求不得，怨憎会、爱别离。白居易诗作「彩云易散琉璃脆」，琉璃的华美与脆弱，成了一种最能呈现生命无常的材质。经歷三年半在材质与技法的摸索，琉璃，渐渐成为杨惠姗一种新的表演语言。花，是她喜爱的创作主题之一， 也是她展演生命的方式。

杨惠姗延续表演艺术上的成就， 以 「脱蜡铸造法」 的工艺技法与丰沛的人文哲学思想， 让中国琉璃艺术在失落千年后， 再度以现代琉璃的创作受到国际瞩目与肯定。 在她的心底， 对于民族文化的渴望激情， 日日夜夜与琉璃的战斗， 只为寻求一种独特的创作语言， 从臺湾走出去， 代表东方琉璃艺术向世界发声。 

从影后，到世界级琉璃艺术家

一路走来， 作品迄今横跨欧、 亚、 美全球19家国际博物馆典藏纪录， 一个让全世界感动的华人琉璃艺术家。 2007 年于 Leo Kaplan Modern 艺廊展览一举轰动纽约， 被誉为中国现代琉璃艺术的前卫推动者。 2010 年更获邀至美国康宁博物馆开设琉璃艺术大师工作坊， 成为首位于康宁授课的华人女性玻璃艺术家。

杨惠姗，一个进入世界级博物馆殿堂的华人名字；一个世界的杨惠姗。

Loretta H. Yang - the Name Heard Around the World
Yang’s liuli flowers make their mark on the world

杨惠姗 - 世界的琉璃花
杨惠姗琉璃花的世界足迹 

The Pure Spring Reflects the Orchid 《清泉映兰》

Year 2000
Acquired by Museo del Vidro, Monterrey, Mexico
  墨西哥蒙特利市维多博物馆 

The Flowers are Beautiful and The Moon is Full 《花好月圆》

Year 2002
Exhibition at Steninge Palace, Sweden
瑞典 Steninge Palace 博物馆展出

Year 2004
Exhibition at Capazza Galerie, Nançay, France
法国南锡Capazza艺廊展出

Year 2007
Exhibition at Leo Kaplan Modern, New York, USA
美国纽约 Leo Kaplan Modern 艺廊展出

2007 The Proof of Awareness 《澄明之悟》

Year 2007
Acquired by Corning Museum of Glass, New York, USA
美国康宁玻璃博物馆典藏

Year 2007
Acquired by Museum of Arts and Design, New York, USA
美国纽约艺术与设计博物馆典藏

Year 2008
Exhibition at Leo Kaplan Modern, New York, USA
美国纽约 Leo Kaplan Modern 艺廊展出

Year 2008
Exhibition in Malaysia
马来西亚展出

Year 2009
Receives award at Habatat Galleries’ Int'l Glass Invitational Award Exhibition
获美国 Habatat 艺廊国际玻璃艺术大展奖

Springtime Dance 《春之舞》

Year 2010
Acquired by Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, Denmark
丹麦艾贝尔托夫博物馆典藏

Imminent Spring Dance 《且舞春风共从容》

Year 2010
One Hundred Years, a LIULI Flower Blooms exhibition in Singapore
《一百年，开出一朵琉璃花》 新加坡展出

Year 2010
One Hundred Years, a LIULI Flower Blooms exhibition in Malaysia
《一百年，开出一朵琉璃花》 马来西亚展出

Year 2010
One Hundred Years, a LIULI Flower Blooms exhibition in San Francisco, CA
《一百年，开出一朵琉璃花》 美国旧金山展出

Imminent Spring Dance 《且舞春风共从容》

 Year 2013
Acquired by the National Art Museum of China, Beijing, China
中国美术馆典藏

Song of the Morning Flower 《朝花之歌》

 Year 2015
Featured in Chase Bank’s Mastery campaign
美国 CHASE 银行年度形象代表 MASTERY 为广告代表作

Golden Glow of Enlightenment 《金光明菩提愿》

 Year 2016
acquired by Musée des Arts Décoratifs
法国装饰艺术博物馆典藏

Imminent Spring Dance 《且舞春风共从容》

Year 2016
One Hundred Years, a LIULI Flower Blooms exhibition in Brussels, Belgium
比利时布鲁塞尔展出《一百年，开出一朵琉璃花》

Year 2018
One Hundred Years, a LIULI Flower Blooms exhibited at Goüin Museum, Tours, France
法国图尔古安博物馆展出《一百年，开出一朵琉璃花》

Related Artist Collection:

The Proof of Awareness (Artist's Edition)
 澄明之悟 (艺术家收藏版)

A Chinese LIULI Flower (Artist's Edition)
一朵中国琉璃花 (艺术家收藏版)