美國藝術家Richard Serra的作品單純地關注人與環境的關係；人在不同空間中的經驗。他的大型鋼雕塑簡約卻千變萬化，不同形狀放在不同的場域中，會產生不同的體驗。Serra曾說他是個對發明形狀感興趣的雕塑家，他的雕塑不限於在公共場域中看到的大型鋼造形態，還有以畫的形式出現既像雕塑也似畫的作品。
雕塑具物理性，不單純是立體三維，更多的是形態跟創作過程有密切關係。Serra作畫也極具物理性，創作過程更是跟最後形態的呈現密不可分。他會用上兩張在紋理、圖案、重量等方面也不同的手製紙，兩紙中間塗上石墨顏料，然後以身體或不同的物件，在紙上面施壓以做出不同的形狀，石墨顏料的紋理質感因此呈現不同的形狀，遠看是畫近看就是在紙上的雕塑。Serra的大型鋼造雕塑具重型工業的味道，放在不同的公共場域，因各種不同的自然因素，如天氣、室內氣溫濕度及參觀人士的足跡，都會不經意在雕塑上留痕。但Serra的畫作中，石墨顏料在紙上的壓紋，是他刻意在其上加以不同的壓力而造成。
Serra的畫作都是抽象的，但那些紀錄了身體、物件壓過的痕跡讓觀眾在抽象中明白了甚麼，一種如糾結著不知如何表達的狀態。檢視我們的生活及存在，這種狀態其實並不抽象及陌生。Serra沒有用畫筆，卻以不同媒介將顏料的質感厚度及物理性質改變，在畫紙與觀眾之間建立及呈現另一個空間，讓反思及呼應發生於其中。Serra曾說藝術沒有用，只是單純的形狀或形式。但刻意與不經意的兩種狀態，又彷彿跟人類的存在相呼應，這種沒用單純形式於是引起觀眾的反思，引起思考也不是全然的無用。
The body of work of Richard Serra, an American artist, concern purely human beings’ relationship with the environment, as well as their experience in various spaces. His large-scale steel sculptures are plain and simple yet infinite in their variety. Various shapes are being placed in a variety of locations, forming different experiences. Serra once mentioned that he is a sculptor who is interested in the invention of form. His sculptures are not limited to those large-scale ones in steel found in public locations. There are also those in the form of paintings which resemble both sculptures and drawings.
Boasting physical properties, sculptures are more than simply three-dimensional. objects Many of them boast forms that have a close relationship with the creation process. The paintings of Serra are also rich in physical qualities, and the process of creating them are inseparable with their final form. He will take two pieces of hand-made paper with varying grain, patterns and weight, put graphite paint between the two, and use the human body and different objects to apply pressure on the paper. As a result, the texture and pattern of the graphite paint will create various shapes. In a distance, it looks like a painting while up close it looks like a sculpture on paper. Serra’s large-scale steel sculptures have the flavors of heavy industry. Thus, various public spaces or natural circumstances, such as weather, humidity as well as viewers’ footprints, will unintentionally leave traces on the sculptures. However, in Serra’s paintings, the pressed patterns of graphite paint on the paper are formed by his deliberately applying various forms of pressure to it.
All of Serra’s drawings are abstract, but those traces that record the pressure left by the body and objects allow spectators to understand something in the abstract, a condition difficult to express as if something were tangled. If we reflect on our life and existence, this kind of condition actually is neither abstract nor unfamiliar. Without using a paint brush, Serra makes use of various media to change the texture, thickness and physical properties of the paint, thereby creating and presenting another space between the drawing paper and the viewers so that reflections and echos can form from within. Serra once said that art has no use, and is purely shape and form. However, the two conditions, being deliberate and unintentional, seemingly echo with human existence. Without the use of a simple form, viewers are aroused to reflect. Given it is thought-provoking, it is not totally useless.
