Artist Biography
Su Xinping (b. 1960, Jining, China, based in Beijing, China) is a painter and printmaker whose work examines the social and ecological impacts of urbanisation on Chinese contemporary life. Rising to prominence in 1980s China, his compositions situate human figures in various environments—from distant landscapes to sparse interiors—that evoke a realm between fiction and reality, physical and psychological.
Su’s early lithographic works frequently featured quiet scenes of people and animals set against vast grasslands, shaped by a sense of nostalgia he felt towards his childhood in Inner Mongolia. While Su’s engagement with China’s sociopolitical landscape intensified over time, he remained committed to a restrained palette and a minimalist aesthetic. In his Sea of Desires (1994–1999) series, middle-aged male figures are dramatically lit against backgrounds that resemble desolate, post-apocalyptic terrains. They appear expressionless, while performing mechanical movements—running, leaping, diving—that suggest futile pursuits of a future beyond the canvas, beyond reach.
Su obtained his BFA in Painting and Printmaking from the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1983 and his MFA in Printmaking from the Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing in 1989. His work can be found in major collections including the Art Gallery of New South Wales, Sydney; National Museum of Modern Art, Canberra; National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne; British Museum, London; USC Pacific Asia Museum, Los Angeles; Portland Museum; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art; Museum Ludwig, Köln; Yokohama Museum of Art; Fukuoka Art Museum; Asian Art Museum, Fukuoka; National Art Museum of China, Beijing; Shanghai Art Museum; Shenzhen Art Museum; Guangdong Museum of Art; Qingdao Art Museum; and Jiangsu Provincial Museum of Art.
Notable exhibitions include East-West Dialogues (2022), Musée du Louvre, Paris; Ink Imaginations (2016), Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Ink Innovations (2015), Modern Art Center, Guangzhou; Chinese Contemporary Art Exhibition (2014), Tate Modern, London; Between Reality and Illusion (2013), Shanghai Art Museum; New Horizons in Ink Art (2012), Asia Society, New York; Openness and Integration (2012), Museum of Fine Art, Budapest; and A New Horizon (2011), National Museum of Australia, Canberra. The artist has also participated in major international festivals including the 14th Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh (2010), Dhaka; China Narratives (2009), 4th Chengdu Biennale; Trans Local Motion (2008), 7th Shanghai Biennale; XI Triennale (2005), 11th India Triennial, New Delhi; 1st Beijing Biennale (2003); 1st Guangzhou Chinese Art Triennial (2002); 6th International Biennial of Print and Drawing (1993), Taipei; and 1st Osaka International Triennial of Print (1991).
Su had his residency at the STPI Workshop in 2005, resulting in the exhibition Three Elements (2006).