Leo Gallery
As the most familiar philosophical term for contemporary Chinese, the “superstructure” and the corresponding “base” have always been an architectural metaphor. Human society is divided into the visible upper parts and invisible basic parts, and the significance of Karl Marx’s philosophy is to point out that it is the invisible parts, which is known as the “superstructure”, that determine the politics, thoughts and cultures that are visible in human society. Here, the image of architecture not only implies the magnificent appearance, but also points to the concept of orders.
In this exhibition, by borrowing and extending this architectural metaphor, we present it through a series of architecture-related works. In these works, the architecture contains four identities: Firstly, architecture as a visual theme – through which artists use the real or imagined architecture to organize the ontological factors of the works, such as the formal structure, the language of the medium, and else. Secondly, architecture as a social space – as artists regard architecture as the background of narration or event, which makes it both a physical space and a social context. Thirdly, architecture as a pure concept – as artists take architecture as an externalized form of human rationality or objective spirit, making architecture a conceptual art. Fourthly, “architecture” as the form of verb – as the artist uses the process of construction to present sporadic occurrences in a specific context.
