Su-Mei Tse facts for kids

Su-Mei Tse: Still from Les Balayeurs du désert (2003)

Su-Mei Tse is a famous artist from Luxembourg. She was born in 1973. Her art often mixes different things like photography, videos, and music. In 2003, she won a very important prize called the Golden Lion. She received it at the Venice Biennale, which is a big art show.

Growing Up and Learning About Art

Su-Mei Tse was born in Luxembourg City on January 29, 1973. Her father was a violinist from China, and her mother was a pianist from England. So, she grew up surrounded by music!

She started learning to play the cello when she was young. She studied at the Luxembourg Conservatory and won a top prize in cello in 1991. Later, she continued her music studies in Paris.

Su-Mei Tse also explored other types of art. In 1996, she earned a diploma in Textile & Printing. This means she learned about making designs on fabric. Then, in 2000, she finished her studies in plastic arts (like sculpture and other visual arts) in Paris.

Her Amazing Artworks

Su-Mei Tse's art is special because it often combines many things. She uses photography, video, and different objects. Sound, rhythm, and music are also very important parts of her work.

Early Creative Works

Some of her first artworks showed her unique style.

• In La Marionnette (1999), she played the cello. But puppet strings were tied to her arms and legs. These strings kept stopping her, which created a new kind of music.
• In Das wohltemperierte Klavier (2001), a person tried to play the piano. But their fingers were bandaged, making it hard to play. This showed how simple things can change music.

Winning the Golden Lion

Su-Mei Tse became very well known in 2003. This was when she won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Biennial. Her exhibition was called "Air conditioned."

One famous video from this show was Les balayeurs du désert (The Desert Sweepers). It showed street sweepers from Paris. They were wearing their usual uniforms. But instead of sweeping streets, they were sweeping sand in the desert. You could hear the soft sound of brooms, just like on asphalt. It looked like they were sweeping for no reason.

Another important video was "The Echo." This video showed a small person playing the cello in the mountains. The simple sounds of the cello echoed through the hills. These artworks, and others in the exhibition, played with the sound "air." This sound can mean "era" (a time period), "area" (a place), or "air" (the air we breathe or a musical tune).

Later Exhibitions

In 2005, Su-Mei Tse had a solo art show called "The Ich-Manifestation." It featured five different video artworks.

Her exhibition "Floating Memories" (2009) was also very interesting. It mixed sound, sculptures, and a video. In the video, an old record player kept spinning a record on a rug. This was meant to bring back childhood memories.

Awards and Recognition

Su-Mei Tse has received many important awards for her art.

• 2013: She became a Knight of the Order of Merit of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg.
• 2009: She won the Fondation Prince Pierre de Monaco Prize for Contemporary Art.
• 2006: She received the SR-Medienkunstpreis.
• 2005: She won the Edward Steichen Award. This award also gave her a chance to live and work in New York in 2006.
• 2003: She won the Golden Lion at the Venice Biennale. This was for the best national participation.
• 2001: She received the Prix d'Art Robert Schuman.

See also

In Spanish: Su-Mei Tse para niños