Image credit: Austin Lee
Su Su
Su Su (b. 1988) is an artist based in New York. She received an MFA from Carnegie Mellon University and served as a guest professor from 2015-2021.
Her work has been exhibited at institutions including The Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh; Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Bentonville; The Momentary, Bentonville; The de la Cruz Collection, Miami; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, Muskegon Museum of Art, Michigan; Chautauqua Institution of Art, Chautauqua; among others. Her works are held in the permanent collections of the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, de la Cruz Collection; Lunar Codex project, NASA, Moon; Bennett Collection of Women Figurative Realists, among others.
Bony Ramirez
Craig Taylor
Dabin Ahn
Drew Dodge
Edd Ravn
Hein Koh
Ji Woo Kim
Jin Jeong
KangHee Kim
Miwa Neishi
Reuben Paterson
Sahana Ramakrishnan
Shuyi Cao
Shyama Golden
Sophia Heymans
Su Su
Sung Hwa Kim
Wanki Min
Yoora Lee
Yujie Li
Yuri Yuan
Zayira Ray
Image credit: © 2024 Christie’s Images Ltd.
memory/
I was born and raised in Beijing, a city rich with history and traditional architecture. In my childhood, my grandfather had the greatest influence on my artistic journey. We are a Manchurian family, and our clan is related to the last Qing dynasty.
My grandfather was a scholar in literature and small seal script: the first standardized set of Chinese characters. I grew up surrounded by his books, calligraphy, and carvings; art and creativity were everywhere. It never occurred to me that people could grow up to do anything other than make art.
On weekends, my grandfather would take me to buy rocks—soapstone or soft jade—for him to carve, or we’d visit museums like the Forbidden City. He had this incredible way of making history feel personal. He would say, “Don’t feel distant from these old buildings. Someone’s grandfather probably built them!” Hearing that made these historic spaces come alive for me. Suddenly, they felt warm and familiar, like they were inviting me in. The sculptures, statues, and architecture we revere today, almost as if they were divine, were made by the hands and minds of artists. That thought always stuck with me. It reminds me that behind every work of art, even the most timeless ones, there’s a person who created it.
Image credit: Austin Lee
line/
Certain images, scenes, or memories resonate with me. When that happens, I feel a special connection, like an urge to make a painting. My work is always about that sense of connection: how I feel linked to what I’ve seen and how I experienced it, then sharing that connection through a painting so you, the viewer, can perceive it in your own way.For example, I incorporate deer motifs into my work. When I was young, we had a beautiful antique porcelain plate with a painted deer, a guardian symbol of longevity and good fortune. I remember it so vividly. When I was older, I encountered another deer, Bambi, the stylized Disney icon. Before I even watched the movie, I saw his image everywhere: on toys, T-shirts, cups, and backpacks.
What struck me was how both images, though depicting the same animal, took on completely different lives in two distinct cultures. I found that gap so fascinating and began exploring it in my paintings. It made me think about how, when we create artwork, we make something that has a life beyond us. Even if the original moment or scene that inspired it is no longer accessible, the image takes on its own life in the world.
color/
I have two main bodies of work: paintings on canvas and paintings on silk. The two mediums feel like distinct practices to me. Across both bodies of work, I explore moments where culture, history, and everyday life intersect. My paintings on canvas often delve into tender, vulnerable, and delicate moments. In contrast, my work on silk features deeply layered pigments that evoke a coral reef or a landscape-like surface, inviting me to trust my intuition and capture the fleeting physical qualities of the pigments through the act of painting.
Both practices inform and enrich one another, with ideas bouncing back and forth. I learn from both simultaneously, staying grounded yet curious. Together, they continually open new pathways for me to deepen my exploration of paint, texture, and the physicality of creating art.
Lucy Liu is a freelance writer and curator based in New York. She is currently a Partner at Rachel Uffner Gallery.