當代藝術界限已愈來愈模糊，因此，要定義金工藝術實屬不易。然而，本文仍試圖以「器」爲切入點，從藝術作品的獨創與複製性、以及從當代理論中對於「物件」的硏究中，以發掘當代金工創作的面向。
整體而言，當代金工創作係在西方工藝美術脈絡下影響的一脈發展，但同時也受益於古代傳統。它身處於美術與商業設計之間的灰色地帶，同時也在傳統技巧的承襲與主體的創意表現之間相互拉鋸著。金工創作作品不以視覺衝擊、社會批判或嘲諷爲宗旨。那以手工打造的作品，靜謐展現自身樣態的方式，彷彿仍處於機械複製時代之前的藝術作品。
本文透過器之譜系、技巧、雙手與戀物四個方面，以側面描寫方式試圖呈現出當代金工創作的主要面向，最終將其創作行爲比喻成古代的煉金術。在當代純藝術創作風潮的衝擊下，金工創作雖也曾激起漣漪，然整體仍在其自身脈絡中，按著自身的步調前進。
金工創作、器、工藝美術、技巧、雙手、戀物、煉金術
The boundary among contemporary arts has been demolished; therefore, it is not easy to give a clear definition of contemporary metal arts. However, from the view of 'artifacts', this text still attempts to point out some aspects of contemporary metal arts by the originality and reproduction or artistic works, and by some ideas about 'objects' from contemporary theory.
Contemporary metal arts are not only the direct development of western craft art, but also benefit from its ancient traditions. The field of metalworking seems to be situated between the area of fine art and commercial design, and the artists have to face the problem that how to combine adopting the traditional skill and expressing their personal creativity at the same time. These works are not intended to shock beholders' visual experience nor to criticize the society, but to represent the state of autonomous form in their ideas, just like the work of art before the age of mechanical reproduction that Benjamin had mentioned.
This article attempts to depict the faces of contemporary metal arts in four aspects: the development of hand-made artifacts, the skill, the handmade-ship and the adornment for materials. Finally, this text linked the behavior of metal creation into ancient alchemy. Under the impact of the contemporary artistic creation agitation, although once the field of metal creation had been influenced, finally it advances according to its own step still.
