Kavi Gupta Gallery
Skip to main content
  • Menu
  • Artists
  • Exhibitions
  • News
  • Viewing Room
  • Editions
  • Events & Art Fairs
  • Public Works
  • Podcast
  • Information
  • Mission
Menu

Su Su

  • Works
  • Exhibitions
  • Video
  • Press
  • Events
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Su Su, The Phenomenology of Nutrients, 2021
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Su Su, The Phenomenology of Nutrients, 2021
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Su Su, The Phenomenology of Nutrients, 2021
Open a larger version of the following image in a popup: Su Su, The Phenomenology of Nutrients, 2021

Su Su

The Phenomenology of Nutrients, 2021
Oil on canvas
36 x 36 in
91.4 x 91.4 cm
8272

Further images

  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 1 ) Su Su, You've Got a Little Something, 2021
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 2 ) Su Su, You've Got a Little Something, 2021
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 3 ) Su Su, You've Got a Little Something, 2021
  • (View a larger image of thumbnail 4 ) Su Su, You've Got a Little Something, 2021
The Phenomenology of Nutrients is an oil painting by Chinese-born, Pittsburgh-based artist Su Su. The image is evocative of a porcelain vase from China dating to the Qing dynasty that...
Read more
The Phenomenology of Nutrients is an oil painting by Chinese-born, Pittsburgh-based artist Su Su. The image is evocative of a porcelain vase from China dating to the Qing dynasty that is in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, titled Vase with Nine Peaches.

Su Su creates fantastical, dreamlike oil paintings that offer a new and unique understanding of intercultural exchange—a jittery, beautiful hybrid of mass media, pop culture, history, and memory with the capacity to shape our understanding of our interconnected world.

In Chinese art and folklore, peaches are a symbol of long life, and speak to the desire leaders had to attain eternal life. The number nine, similarly, is considered a mystical number because it is the highest single number attainable before a new series begins. In Su Su’s painting, we see the peaches transforming into biomorphic masses evocative of body parts, as images of Su Su’s face swirl among the forms.

By blending references to American cultural icons such as Walt Disney characters with images from Chinese art history, such as peaches and flowers taken from vases in the Metropolitan collection, Su Su’s works speak to the complicated and confusing experiences she has had as an immigrant to the United States. The distorted, swirling world of liquified pop iconographies and Chinese symbolism melting together with Su Su’s face and body reflects her struggle with the misunderstandings that shape the way China and the United States understand and portray each other’s cultures.
Close full details
Share
  • Facebook
  • X
  • Pinterest
  • Tumblr
  • Email
Previous
|
Next
18 
of  29

Contact: +1  708-480-2882

General Inquiries: info@kavigupta.com

Media Inquiries: media@kavigupta.com

Client & Sales Inquiries: client@kavigupta.com

Publications: Kavi Gupta Editions

Facebook Twitter Instagram Newsletter

Kavi Gupta Washington Blvd

835 W. Washington Blvd. Chicago, IL 60607

Hours | Tue–Fri: 11 am–6 pm, Sat: 12 pm–5 pm

Kavi Gupta Elizabeth St

219 N. Elizabeth St. Chicago, IL 60607 
Hours | By appointment only

 

 

Kavi Gupta Warehouse

2108 S. California Ave. Chicago, IL 60608

Kavi Gupta New Buffalo

215 E. Buffalo St. #219 New Buffalo, MI 49117

Instagram, opens in a new tab.
Artsy, opens in a new tab.
Join the mailing list
View on Google Maps
Ocula, opens in a new tab.
Manage cookies
2025 Kavi Gupta
Site by Artlogic

This website uses cookies
This site uses cookies to help make it more useful to you. Please contact us to find out more about our Cookie Policy.

Manage cookies
Accept

Cookie preferences

Check the boxes for the cookie categories you allow our site to use

Cookie options
Required for the website to function and cannot be disabled.
Improve your experience on the website by storing choices you make about how it should function.
Allow us to collect anonymous usage data in order to improve the experience on our website.
Allow us to identify our visitors so that we can offer personalised, targeted marketing.
Save preferences