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.