MACHINOISERIE
Fundamentally ‘principle’ (li 理) and material force (qi 氣) cannot be spoken of as prior or posterior. But if we must trace their origin, we are obliged to say that principle is prior. However, principle is not a separate entity. It exists right in material force. Without material force, principle would have nothing to adhere to.
– Zhu xi, collected conversations 1:11 [tr. Chan]
A premier exhibition as part of Vienna Art Week 2025
- Highlighted the innovative artistry and cultural excellence
Tobias Klein (Hong Kong) and Hong Zeiss (Vienna) complement and contradict each other like microcosm and macrocosm. In their first joint exhibition, Klein's reinterpretations of ancient Chinese scholar stones (供石 Gongshi), which form a framework of rock and 3D-printed structures, encounter the veins and grains of Zeiss's paintings, whose scale and distance – whether near or far – always remain unclear. Although they were not created in exchange, the works examine each other on a structural level and open up dimensions of non-human perception to each other.
The mutual observation of objects and images allows us a rare insight into the exile of the inorganic, into tidal currents and mineral structures, which is actually impossible, if not forbidden, for us. We become secret witnesses to communication processes that elude our understanding of what communication is; that can only be measured in geological eras or beyond time; and whose actual qualities lie beyond meaning and the senses as we know them.
Photo Courtesy of ©️ Simon Veres (2025)