In Sui Jianguo’s early work, such as the Structure Series, the artistdeliberately avoided symbolism of a political or popular nature, preferring to draw out and refine the power of material, life, and philosophy to shock and strike awe into viewers. In this series the artist abandons orthodox sculpting techniques as a means to make himself into a stonemason reflecting on and intervening in the visual state of modern sculpture. The connection between the stone and the nail driven into it reflect a clash of the two materials and a contrast between the manmade and nature. As with this combination of iron and stone, the work Structural Series (Marble) also plays on this idea of opposites in the manipulation of solid materials into unique forms, with reinforced steel rebar being woven into soft nets, and blocks of stone rounded as if shaped out of clay, with the conflict inherent in the transformation of these external forms creating a striking visual effect.

The 1993 piece- Structure Series (Marble) is the largest out of Sui Jianguo’s Structure Series. In the creation of this piece, the artist commented that he sensed an “soul” emanating from within each stone, and taking on a kind of spiritual, almost human symbolism. Stone represents that which is solid, heavy, condensed, unspoken, causing the artist to believe in the possibility of a spiritual connection and communication between the human and material world. The numerous “stone forms” composed of the various metals and stones that the artist has created have been transformed from mere materials into metaphors and projections of the state of life in the face of adversity.

(Edited by Lijie Wang & Miao Zijin)