楊惠姍，華人世界琉璃藝術運動先鋒
Loretta H. Yang – Pioneer of the Chinese Liuli Art Movement
2007年，美國紐約的歷史中，印記著一個來自東方的名字：楊惠姍。
美國紐約最重要的現代琉璃藝廊Leo Kaplan Modern，在紐約麥迪森大道有三十年的歷史，在這個藝廊展出的藝術家，全是大都會博物館（Metropolitan Museum of Art）、史密森尼博物館（Smithsonian Institution）、法國裝飾藝術博物館（Musee des Arts Decoratifs Paris）、英國維多利亞與亞伯特博物館（V&A Museum）所收藏的重要藝術家。
2007年由該藝廊舉辦「INTERSECTION」展，展出的藝術家共三人：William Carlson，Steven Weinberg，另一位則是楊惠姍；William Carlson和Steven Weinberg是1960美國studio glass運動先鋒大師級人物，他們兩個人的名字等於「美國工作室玻璃藝術」，這也是該藝廊第一次出現東方風格的琉璃藝術作品，對於一手開闢東方華人世界琉璃藝術運動的楊惠姍而言，更是一個重要的里程碑。
展覽開幕當天，紐約各大重要博物館代表人物皆出席，美國康寧玻璃博物館(Corning Museum of Glass) Tina Oldknow女士、美國紐約藝術與設計博物館 (Museum of Art & Design) 主席策展人David Mcfadden先生、紐約Urban Glass玻璃藝術推廣機構執行總監Dawn Bennett女士，以及玻璃藝術專業的Glass雜誌編輯與專業藝評家。
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 Hui-shan 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.
轟動紐約！華人琉璃藝術史上的里程碑
Chinese Liuli Takes New York
開幕當天，紐約康寧玻璃藝術博物館館長Tina Oldknow，立刻以美國康寧玻璃藝術博物館的名義，收藏楊惠姍展出的作品之一《澄明之悟》。她說：「我先前看過照片；但是，親眼看見作品，才感覺它令人震憾的力量。楊惠姍的作品完全不是照片所能傳達。楊惠姍的作品，不論是技術上或者創意上，為琉璃藝術界跨越了新的高度。」
美國康寧博物館，作為全世界最權威、最專業，歷史最悠久的美國玻璃博物館，含括45000多件收藏品、前後跨越35個世紀，完整呈現了人類玻璃工藝發展至今的重大突破與歷史脈絡。楊惠姍的作品被該博物館典藏，代表了她的創作，不僅僅是東方華人現代琉璃的重要藝術家，更是全世界琉璃藝術創作中的重要里程碑。
在康寧博物館之後，美國紐約藝術與設計博物館也表達希望收藏《澄明之悟》。在全世界上美國最重要的，最專業的玻璃藝術與設計兩家博物館，在短短不到一個星期內爭相收藏楊惠姍這朵盛開的透明無色的巨型牡丹；此項紀錄，至今無人能及。
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.
《澄明之悟》在紐約永遠綻放
Proof of Awareness – A Permanent Bloom in New York City
一個華人藝術家的名字，進入世界級的博物館
An Asian Name Found in World Renowned Museums
楊惠姍在《澄明之悟》系列的創作中，巨大的花朵，把所有的色彩全部抽出，留給每一件作品澄澈透明的樣貌，是她思考生命也是創作歷程的另外一個階段。
在禪與佛家的哲學中，一切的「苦」皆因「無常」，從「空」與「無」的概念，對生命的苦產生更慈悲的更深切的觀照。楊惠姍說：「人生是短暫與痛苦的，而存在是虛無的……花朵愈大，愈顯完美，同時也能承載愈多的憂傷苦痛。」當她透視了生命的本質，她突然覺得，花應該是澄澈的，是穿透的，在光裡覺醒，對色彩了無罣礙，對紅麈亦無罣礙。
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 says, "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.
生命既是無常，是否能用更謙卑的心，珍惜每一個當下？
Life is impermanent. As it should be.
Is it possible to live more humbly and cherish every present moment?
尺寸的體積感，琉璃與光線流動之間的多樣複雜感，加上如此充滿東方宇宙生命觀的創作，蘊含禪意與對生命的體會，在眾多歐美現代玻璃藝術家之中，楊惠姍的作品，是一種當代琉璃藝術的新超越，一種充滿革命性的新語彙，這是華人琉璃藝術在現代琉璃藝術史上的重要簽名。
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.
