New York, April 30th, 2024 – Half Gallery is proud to present Katherine Qiyu Su: How Far is the Foreign Lands, running from April 30th to May 25th, 2024. This thought-provoking exhibition, curated by Stavroula Coulianidis, offers an intimate glimpse into the artist’s complex interplay of personal history, nostalgia, and the blurry lines of self-perception.
Born in Beijing in 1999 and now residing in London, Katherine Qiyu Su has cultivated a body of work that transcends geographic and emotional landscapes. Her recent return to painting after an extensive period away from her homeland imbues her work with a sense of longing and introspection that resonates deeply with viewers.
The show features seven paintings that delicately navigate the shadowed realms between established truths and the memories that shape our identities. Su’s unique approach to her craft allows for a multifaceted exploration of how personal and collective reminiscences morph over time, losing their form yet gaining new meanings through subjective interpretation.
Through layers of paint, Su invites onlookers to peel back the veils of her experiences, revealing hidden narratives that hover between fiction and reality. Each piece serves as a testament to her search for identity in a world filled with contradictions, blending fragments of her past into a canvas of potential futures where the impossible becomes tangible.
The exhibition’s reflective quality challenges not only Su’s sense of self but also prompts viewers to consider their relationships with their memories. Su employs organic patterns to guide the viewer through a dance of abstraction and figuration, where emotions dictate the transformation of each vivid motif.
Since earning her BA in Interior Design from the North China University of Technology in 2021 and completing her MA in Painting at the Royal College of Art in London in 2023, Su’s work has gained international attention. Her exhibitions across esteemed venues, including Thom Oosterhof Project and St. Art Gallery in London, as well as engagements in Milan and beyond, have showcased her evolving narrative style and unique visual language.
Katherine Qiyu Su: How Far is the Foreign Lands at Half Gallery not only highlights Su’s artistic evolution but also marks an important contribution to contemporary conversations about identity, place, and the power of memory. Viewers are invited to immerse themselves in Su’s world, where the boundaries of the familiar suddenly dissolve, leaving a space where new connections and understandings can flourish.
