Threshold Line II by Chen Wencai contemporary artwork with three saw blades and Chinese lacquer
Chen Wencai Threshold Line II with red green and black lacquered saw blades in EAST WEST SPACE
Threshold Line II by Chen Wencai contemporary artwork with three saw blades and Chinese lacquer
Chen Wencai Threshold Line II with red green and black lacquered saw blades in EAST WEST SPACE

Threshold Line II | CHEN WENCAI

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Threshold Line II by Chen Wencai expands the artist’s investigation into material tension through repetition and rhythm. Composed of three parallel saw blades mounted on a pristine white surface, the work introduces variation through subtle shifts in color, reflection and presence.

Each blade is treated with traditional Chinese lacquer, revealing distinct tonalities—dark, blue-green and red—that activate the composition while maintaining a disciplined formal structure. The repetition of the vertical elements creates a visual cadence, where industrial sharpness is softened and transformed by the depth and luminosity of lacquer.

Light plays a decisive role. Shadows cast by the serrated edges extend the work into space, multiplying its geometry and reinforcing its sculptural dimension. The piece oscillates between control and disruption, between seriality and individuality.

Artist: Chen Wencai
Dimensions: 160 × 110 × 15 cm
Materials: Wood, saw blade, Chinese lacquer
Year: 2022
Unique piece
Signed and certified by the artist

Threshold Line II by Chen Wencai expands the artist’s investigation into material tension through repetition and rhythm. Composed of three parallel saw blades mounted on a pristine white surface, the work introduces variation through subtle shifts in color, reflection and presence.

Each blade is treated with traditional Chinese lacquer, revealing distinct tonalities—dark, blue-green and red—that activate the composition while maintaining a disciplined formal structure. The repetition of the vertical elements creates a visual cadence, where industrial sharpness is softened and transformed by the depth and luminosity of lacquer.

Light plays a decisive role. Shadows cast by the serrated edges extend the work into space, multiplying its geometry and reinforcing its sculptural dimension. The piece oscillates between control and disruption, between seriality and individuality.

Artist: Chen Wencai
Dimensions: 160 × 110 × 15 cm
Materials: Wood, saw blade, Chinese lacquer
Year: 2022
Unique piece
Signed and certified by the artist

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About the artist

CHEN WENCAI

Chen Wencai (born 1988, Guangdong Province) is a sculptor whose practice is rooted in the intersection between material, thought and perception. He trained in Sculpture at the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, where he developed a strong technical and conceptual foundation. He currently lives and works in Guangzhou, from where he carries out an ongoing investigation into the relationship between the individual, nature and the dynamics of social groups.

His work unfolds through a slow and deliberate sculptural process in which material plays a central role. Drawing from traditional knowledge while engaging with contemporary concerns, Chen approaches sculpture as a space for reflection rather than representation. His practice is driven by an interest in how matter can embody time, memory and tension, allowing form to emerge through restraint, repetition and careful control of gesture.

A defining element of his work is the use of the ancestral technique of Chinese lacquer, combined with materials such as wood, fabric, plaster and horn. This demanding medium—marked by discipline, layering and duration—is reinterpreted through a contemporary sculptural language. In his pieces, the surface acquires depth and silence, becoming a site where form, context and concept converge through a subtle narrative and a poetics informed by literary thought.

Today, Chen Wencai’s work can be understood as an act of reflection and quiet resistance. Through contained and precise sculptural forms, he explores themes of freedom, isolation and individual independence. His sculptures invite contemplation, offering a restrained yet powerful presence in which material, process and meaning are inseparable.

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