Su Xiaobai: Glimmer
November 8, 2025 – January 31, 2026
Tina Keng Gallery, Taipei
1F, No.15, Ln. 548, Ruiguang Rd., Neihu Dist., Taipei 114, Taiwan
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
The Chinese term 幽幽 (yōu yōu) describes a state of deepness and profundity, or a state of ease or silence. For Su, however, it is merely a phrase that has captured how he felt after reading and writing. It came from a notebook he carries around in his pocket, where he jots down snippets and excerpts, or thoughts that remain unsaid. Aside from painting, the artist delights in writing, too. The act of painting exhilarates him, while writing allows him to inscribe onto the pages musings that were never complete.
Video courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Text, for him, exists not to proclaim meaning; it simply takes shape in his mind. Just like the works on view in this solo exhibition, they encapsulate lived moments, but resonate beyond a mere record of his life. They chronicle the interaction between time, materiality, and the artist, connoting moments of immersion and subsequent surrender. They attest to his tenacity, as a poignant rendition of lacquer, tile, and hometown.
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Photo courtesy of Tina Keng Gallery
Metamorphosis:
Chinese Imagination and Transformation
Curated by Dr. Susan L. Beningson
September 10, 2025 – January 11, 2026
China Institute Gallery
100 Washington Street, 2nd floor, New York, NY 10006
Metamorphosis: Chinese Imagination and Transformation highlights works by 28 contemporary artists of Chinese descent, who explore themes of personal, cultural, historical and material metamorphosis in dynamic and innovative ways. Across painting, sculpture, photography, animation and installation art, these works by established and emerging artists of different generations and backgrounds use experimentation to draw on both Eastern and Western art-making practices and materials. Many of the works are seen for the first time in the U.S. Important commissions include new paintings by Sun Xun and an immersive Dream Chamber by Bingyi. The exhibition is organized broadly around four themes: “Metamorphosis of the Body and Self,” “Metamorphosis of the Environment and Natural World,” “Historical and Cultural Metamorphosis,” and “Spiritual Metamorphosis.” –– By Dr. Susan L. Beningson, the curator.
Su Xiaobai, Niao Niao – N.Y., 2024. Lacquer, emulsion, Nachi blackstone powder, linen, and wood. Courtesy of Su Xiaobai Foundation.
…And then there is a luminous dark gray wall relief by Su Xiaobai, titled Niao Niao – N.Y. (2024), made with a virtuoso touch in lacquer, each of its four sides mitred backward roughly an inch in width. This gives the work, which turns a centuries-old tradition of lacquer ware into a twenty-first century statement, a greater than usual depth than most flat pieces. Its relentless abstraction offers a conspicuous nod in agreement with the art made in Western Europe and the United States during the previous century. …. –– By Jonathan Goodman, The Brooklyn Rail.