Rodrigo Hernandez, Is That So?, 2013

Artists: Javier Barrios, Tyler Coburn, Regina Galindo, Rodrigo Hernández, Federico Herrero, Akira Ikezoe, Naufus Ramírez-Figueroa, Chosil Kil, Catalina León, Gabriel Lester, Yu-Hsien Su

Curated by: Emiliano Valdés

The School of Nature and Principle is an ensemble of works speculating on the relationship between metaphysics and various aspects of contemporary society. The exhibition also addresses, partly through the way it was conceived, the gradual evolution (or deterioration) of highly organized thought systems from their initial implementation to their eventual adaptation to society and actual human behavior. Taking Neo-Confucianism as his departure point (specifically the branch known as the School of Nature and Principle, which proposes a way of relating to and behaving in the world), curator Emiliano Valdés has assembled an international group of artists whose work explores the validity of non-rational knowledge, our relation to the natural world and technology, and simply what it means to be alive today. 

Though inspired by medieval Chinese philosophy and religion, The School of Nature and Principle comments on contemporary society’s move further from the rationalism of the Enlightenment era toward greater acceptance of the irrational and spiritual, a move enhanced by growing understanding of quantum physics and the nature of space-time. The works included in this show address the tension generated by a drive for logic and control versus a yearning for intuition and the unknown. 

This event is being held in conjunction with the exhibition The School of Nature & Principle, on view April 10 - May 30, 2015.