Sui Jianguo 隋建國

< artists

Sui Jianguo 隋建國

Selected works

Richard Deacon
and Sui Jianguo
L.A. Louver, 2018

Sui Jianguo /
Planting Trace 1, 2014-2016 /
cast bronze /
114 1/8 x 70 7/8 x 67 in. (290 x 180 x 170 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Planting Trace -- Constellation 10, 2018 /
cast bronze /
19 3/4 x 15 3/4 x 19 3/4 in. (50 x 40 x 50 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Planting Trace -- Island 3, 2018 /
galvanized photosensitive resin 3D printing /
21 5/8 x 13 x 8 1/4 in. (55 x 33 x 21 cm)

Blind Portraits 2013 - 2008

Sui Jianguo /
Blind Portraits, 2013 /
Cast bronze /
200.79 x 62.99 x 70.87 in. (510 x 160 x 180 cm) /
/
Sui creates the <i>Blind Portraits</i> by working blindfolded / with clay, creating sculptures, unmediated by vision. / The works are first modeled in clay, enlarged and cast / in bronze.

Sui Jianguo /
Blind Portrait, 2011 /
Cast bronze /
Height 196.85 in. (500 cm) /
/
Sui creates the <i>Blind Portraits</i> by working blindfolded / with clay, creating sculptures, unmediated by vision. / The works are first modeled in clay, enlarged and cast / in bronze.

Sui Jianguo /
Photo series depicting Blind Portrait, 2008: /
the creation process, didactic video, and final installation of the sculpture /
steel frame and mud, 216.54 in. (550 cm) /
/
Sui creates the <i>Blind Portraits</i> by working blindfolded / with clay, creating sculptures, unmediated by vision. / The works are first modeled in clay, enlarged and cast / in bronze.

Limited Moving and Motion and Tension 2012 - 2009

Sui Jianguo /
Restricted Movement, 2012 /
Metals and electrical machinery /
590.55 x 98.43 x 98.43 in. (1500 x 250 x 250 cm) /
/
Viewers are confronted by oversized mobile steel spheres that / are activated, yet confined within industrial steel walls, cages / or the gallery space itself. These massive globes are set into / motion against their enclosures, producing a jarring collision / of metal, or a rolling, physical threat.

Sui Jianguo /
Restrained Power, 2011 /
Steel and electric machinery /
98.43 x 98.43 x 314.96 in. (250 x 250 x 800 cm) /
/
Viewers are confronted by oversized mobile steel spheres that / are activated, yet confined within industrial steel walls, cages / or the gallery space itself. These massive globes are set into / motion against their enclosures, producing a jarring collision / of metal, or a rolling, physical threat.

Sui Jianguo /
Limited Moving, 2010 /
Steel and electric machinery /
/
Viewers are confronted by oversized mobile steel spheres that / are activated, yet confined within industrial steel walls, cages / or the gallery space itself. These massive globes are set into / motion against their enclosures, producing a jarring collision / of metal, or a rolling, physical threat.

Sui Jianguo /
Motion and Tension, 2009 /
Steel structure and electrical machinery, iron balls /
Height 98.43 in. (250 cm) /
/
Viewers are confronted by oversized mobile steel spheres that / are activated, yet confined within industrial steel walls, cages / or the gallery space itself. These massive globes are set into / motion against their enclosures, producing a jarring collision / of metal, or a rolling, physical threat.

Made in China and Jurassic Era 2011 - 2000

Sui Jianguo /
Made in China, 2011 /
Steel container /
472.44 x 106.3 x 94.49 in. (1200 x 270 x 240 cm) /
/
The works of the <i>Made in China</i> and <i>Jurassic Era</i> series / investigate contemporary Chinese export culture. Sui presents / commercial objects as pop icons manifested at a scale that / references public monument.

Sui Jianguo /
Made in China, 2005 /
Neon light /
787.4 in. (2000 cm) /
/
The works of the <i>Made in China</i> and <i>Jurassic Era</i> series / investigate contemporary Chinese export culture. Sui presents / commercial objects as pop icons manifested at a scale that / references public monument.

Sui Jianguo /
Sleeping Mao, 2003 /
Painted fiberglass /
94.49 in. (240 cm) /
/
The works of the <i>Made in China</i> and <i>Jurassic Era</i> series / investigate contemporary Chinese export culture. Sui presents / commercial objects as pop icons manifested at a scale that / references public monument.

Sui Jianguo /
Jurassic Realm, 2000 /
Painted fiberglass /
90.55 x 98.43 x 181.1 in. (230 x 250 x 460 cm) /
/
The works of the <i>Made in China</i> and <i>Jurassic Era</i> series / investigate contemporary Chinese export culture. Sui presents / commercial objects as pop icons manifested at a scale that / references public monument.

Additional selected works 2010 - 2006

Sui Jianguo /
Dream Stone, 2010 /
Painted corten steel /
275.59 x 196.85 x 216.54 in. (700 x 500 x 550 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Wuchang, 2009 /
393.7 in. (1000 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
My Stone of Weight, 2007 / Stone

Sui Jianguo /
The Shape of Time, 2006 until death /
Stainless steel wire and paint /
Initial stage .06 in. (.15 cm) wire

Clothes Vein Study 2003 - 1998

Sui Jianguo /
Clothes Vein Study - Bound Slave, 1998 /
Painted fiberglass /
Height 90.55 in. (230 cm) /
/
Sui dresses famous western classical nudes in Chinese Zhongshan uniforms / or “Mao suits.” These works present the idealized European Renaissance / body clothed in the iconic garb of the Communist Party of China, / symbolizing the remnants of colonization and the appropriation of / western aesthetics in modern Chinese society.

Sui Jianguo /
Study on the Folding of Clothes - Right Arm, 2003 /
Painted fiberglass /
275.59 x 90.55 x 98.43 in. (700 x 230 x 250 cm) /
/
Sui dresses famous western classical nudes in Chinese Zhongshan uniforms / or “Mao suits.” These works present the idealized European Renaissance / body clothed in the iconic garb of the Communist Party of China, / symbolizing the remnants of colonization and the appropriation of / western aesthetics in modern Chinese society.

Sui Jianguo /
Study of Clothes, 1998 /
Painted fiberglass /
Height 67.72 in. (172 cm) /
/
Sui dresses famous western classical nudes in Chinese Zhongshan uniforms / or “Mao suits.” These works present the idealized European Renaissance / body clothed in the iconic garb of the Communist Party of China, / symbolizing the remnants of colonization and the appropriation of / western aesthetics in modern Chinese society.

Legacy 1997

Sui Jianguo /
Legacy Mantle, 1997 /
Fiberglass /
94.49 x 62.99 x 35.43 in. (240 x 160 x 90 cm) each /
/
The <i>Legacy</i> series marks Sui’s first use of the Zhongshan suit. The / series began with sculptures of standalone jackets with corroded / surfaces; later the jackets were created with brightly colored, glossy / surfaces. The sculptures serve as an attempt to confront and release / “the excitement and inhibition associated with this object.”

Sui Jianguo /
Legacy 1st, 1997 /
Bronze /
Height 15.75 in. (40 cm) /
/
The <i>Legacy</i> series marks Sui’s first use of the Zhongshan suit. The / series began with sculptures of standalone jackets with corroded / surfaces; later the jackets were created with brightly colored, glossy / surfaces. The sculptures serve as an attempt to confront and release / “the excitement and inhibition associated with this object.”

Structure 1991 - 1990

Sui Jianguo /
Structure, 1991 /
Stone and welding steel /
19.69 in. (50 cm) /
/
A body of work that followed the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests / of 1989, the <i>Structure</i> series shifts away from Sui’s earlier figurative / portraiture to abstract depictions of bondage and healing. The works often / are comprised of broken boulders joined together with metal nets, chains, / or staples.

Sui Jianguo /
Untitled, 1990 /
Stone and iron cage /
15.75 x 15.75 x 15.75 in. (40 x 40 x 40 cm) /
/
A body of work that followed the Tiananmen Square pro-democracy protests / of 1989, the <i>Structure</i> series shifts away from Sui’s earlier figurative / portraiture to abstract depictions of bondage and healing. The works often / are comprised of broken boulders joined together with metal nets, chains, / or staples.

Additional selected works 1994 - 1988

Sui Jianguo /
Stale Memory, 1994 /
Stone, cement and cage /
Height 25.59 in. (65 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Earthly Force, 1992-1994 /
Stone and welding steel /
23.62 x 27.56 x 19.69 in. (60 x 70 x 50 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Portraits, 1989 /
Mixed media, gypsum, gauze /
15.75 x 9.84 x 9.84 in. (40 x 25 x 25 cm)

Sui Jianguo /
Balance, 1988 /
Gypsum, network rail and old furniture /
31.5 x 35.43 x 35.43 in. (80 x 90 x 90 cm)

Bio

1956 Born, Qingdao, Shandong Province
Lives and works in Beijing, China

Education:
1984 BFA, Shandong University of Arts, Shandong, China
1989 MFA, Department of Sculpture, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

Professor and Chair, Department of Sculpture, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Beijing

biography

Selected L.A. Louver exhibitions

view past exhibitions

Richard Deacon and Sui Jianguo

6 Sep - 20 Oct 2018

Gallery exhibition

Sculpture

27 May - 2 Jul 2015

Gallery exhibition

Sui Jianguo

30 Oct - 29 Nov 2014

Gallery exhibition

Sui Jianguo

12 Sep - 18 Oct 2014

Gallery exhibition

Selected museum exhibitions

view past exhibitions

The Allure of Matter
Material Art from China

LACMA
Los Angeles, CA
2 Jun 2019 - 5 Jan 2020

Museum exhibition

Beyond Boundaries

Somerset House
London, UK
12 Mar - 2 Apr 2019

Museum exhibition

Systems
Sui Jianguo 2008-2018

OCAT Shenzhen
Nanshan, Shenzhen, China
19 Jan - 8 Apr 2019

Museum exhibition

Showing Off
Recent Acquisitions

Denver Art Museum
Denver, CO
17 Jan 2015 - 3 Jan 2016

Museum exhibition

Publication

Sui Jianguo
L.A. Louver, Venice, CA

68 pages, 44 color illustrations
9 x 11.75 in. (22.9 x 29.8 cm)
Softcover

Video

Selected articles

Ollman, Leah. "Conformity and its absence."
Los Angeles Times, 17 Sep 2014: D3. Print.
full article, PDF

Wang, Sue. "Imprisonment and Power: Sui Jianguo Solo Exhibition." CAFA Art Info, Jan 5, 2012.
full article, PDF

Tsong-zung, Chang. "A Secret Anti-Modernist: Sui Jianguo and His Retirement Project." Yishu Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, Vol. 7, no. 3, May/June 2008: 10-21.
full article, PDF

Hamlin, Jesse. "Chinese artist Sui Jianguo puts Mao to rest in colorful metaphor." SF Gate, Feb 16, 2005.
full article, PDF

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