佩塔．科因（Petah Coyne）是紐約當代藝術重量級的雕塑家與攝影家，由於擅長選擇創新且特殊的媒材，《Artforum》 月刊曾稱其為「複合媒材皇后」。九零年代中期，科因開始在作品中放入動物標本剝製術，因此不難發現鳥類、水禽及小型動物等在她作品裡的蹤跡，有些特意置放於顯眼之處，有些則是深埋雕塑底層。

科因喜愛閱讀，從日本文學、但丁《神曲》、希臘羅馬神話，到各種世界文化、各地自然環境、自身生活經驗等，都是創作過程裡的豐沛泉源。自天花板懸落而下、自地面衍生而出的大小雕塑，次次撞擊媒材本身的既有意義與詮釋，不間斷的能量與生命力汨汨流出。那些必經的失落、陰暗與晦暗微光反覆出現，如同麻州MoCA館長Joseph C. Thompson曾描述其作品為：「一個混濁的、受力量壟罩的世界，一個自表面升起而最終進入黑暗核心的世界」。

「佩塔．科因：自由生活」取自哈金2007年出版的長篇小說《自由生活》。無論是其攝影作品裡的飛馳僧侶、踏起裙擺的舞者新娘，抑或其延續經典的最新蠟雕雕塑，皆指向生命最為原始、最為深層的渴望—自由。在科因受到重要東方文學影響而創作的雕塑系列中，無題 #1421（哈金）是今年的最新作品。作品中心是由蠟細緻包覆的鋼鐵骨架，周圍散落著藍色與白色的蠟製花朵。因《國家地理》全球暖化紀錄片而喚起靈感，三部份的鋼鐵結構，隱身質樸清新的層層白蠟之中，映照著三株冰凍卻依然挺拔於雪白原野的樹木圖像。這件雕塑正是新生命自黑暗匍匐而出的美麗見證，同時也象徵著森林大火後嫩芽再發、且終將於雪地綻放的強韌生命力。

如同藝術家簽名標誌的手工浸蠟花，是科因向美國華人文學作家哈金獻上如花束般的稱頌與敬意。哈金於八零年代中期移民美國，儘管有著混亂不安的過往，仍奮力將純潔而明朗的精神留於字裡行間，而這也是科因如此喜愛其文學作品的原因。哈金作品裡那些無述論於政治的人物，則是力圖跨越不同文化間的隔閡，而作為一個藝術家的科因也是如此相信。對她而言，哈金簡單的文字藝術風格，或許恰好如同雪地裡的那些花束，擁有最難能可貴的純潔與美麗。

About the exhibition

Petah Coyne is a New York-based contemporary sculptor and photographer. Referred to by Artforum as the “queen of mixed-media,” Coyne works in disparate and innovative materials. In the mid-1990s, Coyne began incorporating taxidermy into her practice. Birds, waterfowl and small animals can be seen throughout her works, some clearly visible, others deeply imbedded within the sculptures.

Coyne derives her inspiration from equally diverse sources of literature and film, from Japanese authors, Dante’s Divine Comedy and Greek and Roman mythology, to world culture, the natural environment and the artist’s own personal biography. Best known for her large and small scale hanging sculptures and floor installations, Coyne’s practice of repurposing materials continually fuels her work, breathing new life into each object. Themes of loss, darkness and hidden beauty are recurring in her work, what Director of Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art Joseph C. Thompson stated as “a world of dense, enfolding forces, a world in which rising from the surface takes one inwards to some dark, ultimate center.”

“Petah Coyne: A Freedom Life” originates from Ha Jin’ s novel, which entitled "A Free Life" and published in 2007. Whether the speeding monks and the women kicking up their skirts in the photography, or the latest classic waxed sculpture, all point to the most original and deep desire - freedom.Untitled #1421 (Ha Jin) is the latest hanging sculpture in a series of works based on key Eastern literary figures that have influenced Coyne’s oeuvre. The work’s central element is a delicately waxed steel armature, strewn with sprigs of blue and white wax flowers. Inspired by a National Geographic documentary on the effects of global warming, the three-part steel structure, layered in pristine white wax, mirrors an image of three frozen trees standing alone in a snowy field. A testament to the beauty of new life out of darkness, the sculpture symbolizes the emerging growth having survived a forest fire and now blooming through the snow.

The artist’s signature hand-dipped wax flowers form a bouquet-like shape that acts as Coyne’s tribute to the noted Chinese-American author, Ha Jin that immigrated to America in the mid 1980s. Coyne appreciates Ha Jin’s masterful writing, an author who despite a turbulent past, strives for transparency and purity in his prose. Portraying politically agnostic characters throughout his works, Jin endeavors to transcend all cultural differences, and as an artist Coyne identifies with this. For her, Ha Jin’s simple artistic style possesses a purity and beauty, like a bouquet in the snow.

Opening reception is at 14:00 on September 11 in NUNU FINE ART.
展覽將於 9 月 11 日（日/Sun.）14 : 00 路由藝術開幕，歡迎各位朋友蒞臨參觀指教。