Flowers & picture book, 2023

Su Yu   Emerging artists

Su Yu is a Chinese artist born in 1987 who lives and works in Beijing. He was an old student of prestigious art teachers as Shi Liang & Chen Danqing at Oil Painting Institute in Beijing, China.

Text by Shi Liang:

Honestly,it’s not always easy for me to appreciate the works of young painters without relying on my past experiences and artistic preferences. For one thing, I have no reason to overthrow the already established value judgments; for another, the experience-tested judgments are indeed more convincing. From this perspective, I like Su Yu very much! I'm very proud of him. With the capabilities of independent thinking and judgement as well as a sharp and tenacious mind for art, he shares a clearly defined art value and a conscious self-construction awareness. Respects are shown to traditional spirits and language values in terms of artistic expressions, with the realistic criticism and warm compassion pervading in spiritual and emotional expression. Inspired by the real world, all his works are credibly based on emotions, disdaining to sugarcoating or illustrating the reality in a cheap and vulgar way. The reality he perceives is also what he respects, which is regarded as the basis of his artistic creation and expression. Without exaggeration, misinterpretation, and affectation, he controls the tone of his own art with the same attitude to life, and seeks the touching pieces of art in ordinary life. With his mind beyond the secular world, he looks up at the stars, while walking solidly on the ground. Starting from reality and his own heart, he wins himself dignity with his life's beliefs, his passion for painting, his uncompromising will, as well as his diligence for artistic works.

The future of a young artist is defined by artistic pursuits, artistic thinking and judgment abilities, artistic values, persistence, and stress-handling capability. Most importantly, talents must serve as the foundation of all these factors. You will do nothing but sigh in front of a genius. Two physiological reactions are noticeable when Su is painting, staring eyes and sweating hands. His studies in painting were barely decent. His basis of painting derives from the unprofessional basic education, as well as his passion for painting from childhood. His zest for shapes and colors as well as the worship for masterpieces are an outlet for his hormones as a little boy. His overall strength amazes me, forcing me to dismiss the cliché of measuring the level of paintings from the level of education. The truth has been repeated over and over that practice makes perfect, and I’m a loyal believer. But I have more faith in the cream always rises to the top! His style of drawing presents a tangible and interesting trend, and the color is calm and brilliant. The sense of casual ease can be felt in the scene. And most importantly, he has begun to tell his own stories with his talents. That's right! I am talking about you, Su Yu, the talented.

Previously, I have praised Su as a genius. There are two kinds of people, who practice diligence redeems stupidity, and who easily can get things within reach, while Su is the combination of the two. The same spirits, in one’s youth, can be felt from Liu Xiaodong and Zhao Bandi, my school mates. After many years, Su Yu, another young man with similar talents, can also create overwhelmingly stunning works effortlessly. Chen Danqing, a famous Chinese painter, once spoke highly of him as as a big shot. Two years ago, he sketched at a demolition site at a heat, with the emphasis on the spirit and shape, as well as the exhibition of complete flexibility. Merry and dizzy, he smoothly swung his brushes with bright colors, which already seemed quite proficient and professional. The continuous accumulation of life experiences in recent years has greatly improved the dimension and depth of his artistic thinking. The power of his works and the expression of the actual meaning are more powerful and clear. With more profundity in the content of his works, he tries touching upon all aspects of life. The language ability of painting is naturally promoted by the artistic thinking and the formation of self, full of vitality, the power of life and the diligently striving vitality. With faiths, feelings, ideals, and responsibilities, he fully realizes the traps and temptations in his art career, with the courage to abandon current secular interests in face of everything. As a positive force, he is also a rare active factor in the current social and artistic ecology.

The problem of art, is first of all, the problem of human beings. Wherever there is life, there is a problem. Artists use their own perceptions to find pain points, discover problems and ask questions, providing the artistic creation of visuality and thinking space with his most natural and unique artistic ontology language. In this sense, Su Yu is a young artist with great potentials, which is in line with the contemporary figurative art concept. The Centre for Chinese Contemporary Figurative Art will be rejoiced to introduce such an artist!