Su Xinping

Su Xinping is a prominent contemporary Chinese artist known for his insightful and sensitive approach to art. 

Biography of Su Xinping

Su Xinping was born in 1960 in Jining City, Inner Mongolia. He showed artistic talent from a young age, drawing during primary school. He was admitted to the Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts in 1979 and continued to paint while serving in the army for two years, eventually dedicating his life to art.

After graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing in 1989, Su Xinping began creating intimate black-and-white works that captured the social transformations of the open policy era under Deng Xiaoping. His art reflected his deep concern for issues of isolation and communication that emerged during this period.

Su Xinping established himself as a printmaker, valuing this medium not only for its artistic expression but also for its economic significance, as it allows people to incorporate his work into their homes.

The artist shared his knowledge at the Fine Arts Department of Inner Mongolia Normal University in 1983 and continues to teach at the Central Academy of Fine Arts (CAFA) in Beijing. In 1993, he was nominated for the UNESCO Award for the Promotion of the Arts.

Su Xinping's works are part of several esteemed public collections, including The British Museum in London, the Art Gallery of New South Wales and the National Gallery of Australia, the National Art Museum of China, the Shanghai Art Museum, and the Fukuoka Art Museum in Japan.

Su Xinping's Art Style

During Su Xinping's three-week residency at STPI's Visiting Artists Programme (VAP) in July 2005, he explored two of his central themes: a profound examination of communist conventions and public responses to China's evolving society, as well as a deep engagement with the printmaking tradition as an artistic medium.

Xinping's art, which includes lithographs, etchings, and woodcuts, features images such as the Mao jacket, symbolizing the profound influence of Maoist ideology. It also includes new prints from his renowned Comrade and Toast series. These predominantly red and black prints portray men in Mao jackets alongside younger men in Western attire, raising glasses of wine or beer in a toast to something significant. The works comment on the generational divide and the role of banquets and toasts in society, particularly within the political context.