For his first US gallery show, the artist will present a range of works, both representational and abstract, made between 1998 - 2014. The most recent works belong to his ongoing Blind series, where the artist works blindfolded in clay. By restricting his vision, Sui achieves an immediate and sensual connection with the materials, unmediated by vision or subjectivity. First modeled in clay, the works are then enlarged and cast in bronze.

Richard Deacon, a longtime friend of artist, contributed an essay on Sui's Blind works for the exhibition’s catalogue. Here’s a short excerpt:

“The production has been constrained in various ways – most obviously by the use of a blindfold, but also by which part of his body the artist uses in modeling the initial form. One consequence of the constraint is the muffling of, or detachment from, subjectivity in the process. Not being able to see what you are doing makes things difficult and makes it hard to express yourself on the one hand, but equally hard to be objective on the other. It is these ‘blind’ works that I want to focus on. Since sight is such a dominant sense, its absence, whether actual or metaphorical, engenders multiple different possibilities for meaning, many of which hinge on questions of subjectivity and of the absence of intent.”

Opening on September 12th, we’ll be sharing more insights in Sui Jianguo as the exhibition nears – stay tuned!

IMAGES: (top to bottom) Sui Jianguo in the studio; Blind Portrait, 2008, installation at JoyArt, Beijing.