Su-Mei Tse
Words and Memories
For Immediate Release:
Su-Mei Tse
Words and Memories
November 20, 2009 to January 13, 2010
Peter Blum is pleased to announce the exhibition Su-Mei Tse: Words and Memories opening
on November 20th at Peter Blum Chelsea, 526 West 29th
Street, New York. There will be an opening reception on November 20th,
from 6 to 8 p.m. This is Tse’s third solo exhibition with Peter Blum.
In the exhibition Words and Memories Su-Mei
Tse continues to explore the relationship between image and sound and expands
this interest to include an investigation of literature and history. Born in
Luxembourg to a Chinese violinist and an English pianist and trained as a
classical cellist, Tse uses music and sound not only as a theme but also as a
means to express her ideas. Incorporating these multiple roots, Tse often
addresses the relativity of our perception of the world in order to ask viewers
to slow down and re-orient his or her position toward the seemingly obvious.
Tse works in a variety of media and often fuses
sculpture, sound, video, and photography in a haiku-like simplicity. She
frequently combines diverse references in such works as Floating Memories, an installation conceived for Tse’s recent
solo-exhibition at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston. Here she juxtaposes the Gardner’s
institutional history with a video projection triggered from her own childhood
memory. As with Floating Memories’
examination into the slippages of memories, Tse also uses specific materials
such as Neon—prized for its ability to be both material and immaterial—to
obtain similar effects. This can be
seen in such works as Swing, a slowly
moving life-sized neon swing as well as Bird
Cage, a neon cage on an Asian inspired pedestal with its door open and the
bird set free. These works can be
read as a reflection on the passing of time, absence, and longing.
Many Spoken
Words, as
well as Schmerzhafte Zwischentöne, respond to Tse’s fascination with
calligraphy, literature and the power of words. Many Spoken Words is a life-size fountain through which black ink
flows. In this work the written word literally dissolves back into its original
state of liquid ink. The cyclical movement of the ink alludes to the way
thoughts are conceived, recorded, and conceived again. Tse’s formal minimalism
and economy of means allows for interpretations from the most private to the
most universal.
Many of these works have been realized through a dialogue and close collaboration with her partner Jean-Lou Majerus.
Su-Mei Tse was born in Luxembourg in 1973. Her work
has been exhibited nationally and internationally including solo exhibitions at
the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2009); Art Tower Mito, Japan
(2009); the Seattle Asian Art Museum (2008); P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center, New
York (2006); the Casino, Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg (2006); the
Renaissance Society, Chicago (2005); and the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden
(2004). Furthermore, Su-Mei Tse participated at the 26th São Paulo
Biennial in 2004. At the Venice Biennale in 2003 she represented Luxembourg and
was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation. In 2009 Tse was
awarded the prestigious Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco Prize. Su-Mei Tse
lives and works in Berlin and Luxembourg.
For
additional information and photographic material please contact Simone Subal at
chelsea@peterblumgallery.com. Hours:
Tuesday – Saturday 10-6