Peter Blum is pleased to announce the exhibition Su-Mei Tse: Proposition de détour opening on September 7th at Peter Blum Chelsea, 526 West 29th Street, New York. This is Tse’s second solo exhibition with Peter Blum.
Tse’s sculpture Proposition de détour is a unique wool carpet measuring 29’ 6” (9 meters) in diameter. It takes the form of the famous labyrinth found at the Chartres cathedral. Tse superimposes this symbolic maze with imagery lifted from a Persian rug from the first quarter of the 16th century. Fabulous bestiary, elaborate flora, and other themes from this Persian Paradise Garden enter into a playful dialogue with conceptions of the Christian Middle Ages.
Trained as a classical cellist, Tse frequently explores issues of rhythm, music, and movement. In Proposition de détour, Tse translates these ideas into a spatial dimension. Due to her Euro-Asian background, Tse is used to moving between different cultures, purposefully diverting them and testing them against common clichés. Tse’s art often poses the question: what might be a universal language? She works in a wide range of media that encompasses photography, sculpture, video, and installations.
Su-Mei Tse was born in Luxembourg in 1973. Her work was most recently featured in a solo exhibition at PS1, New York. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally including one-person shows at the Casino, Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg (2006) and Albion Gallery, London (2006). In 2005, Tse had a solo exhibition at the Renaissance Society, Chicago as well as at the Museet for Samtidskunst, Roskilde, Denmark and in 2004 at the Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden. Furthermore, Su-Mei Tse participated in several group exhibitions such as the 26th São Paulo Biennial in 2004 and the Venice Biennale in 2003, where she was awarded the Golden Lion for Best National Participation for her three-part installation, Air Conditioned. Su-Mei Tse lives and works in Paris and Luxembourg.