Long-Bin Chen
Past Artist In Residence
2000

The sculptures of Chen Long-Bin decry the death of literary culture while they exalt recycled goods. His unique technique of chainsaw “sculpting” with discarded books collected from New York City recycling systems creates the look of carved wood that is surprisingly soft to the touch. His art contains political undertones of mistrust, alluding to the book burning performed by the Cultural Revolution from 1966-1970. Splitting his time between birthplace Taipei (1964), and New York’s School of Visual Arts Masters Program (1994), Long Bin Chen uses found materials and images from popular culture to parody the disposable nature of knowledge in modern life.