At the heart of Su-Mei Tse’s (b. Born 1973 in Luxembourg. Works and lives in Berlin, Germany) practice is its relationship with musicality. Brought up by a violinist father and pianist mother, Tse studied at the Luxembourg and Paris conservatories and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.  Tse explores a range of relationships with sound, from the literal to the more abstract, each time placing music as the prime conveyor of her conceptual pulse. She contemplates a range of subjects, including the dichotomy of cultures and places. Responding to her personal Eurasian background, certain works flesh out her relationship with Asia and the West whilst simultaneously diverting from the clichés associated with each. Amidst the musical and cultural currents in Tse’s work is a strong sense of poetry and nuanced humor. Her work poetically draws us into contemplation of our sense of place, self and time, using the universal language of music to at once suggest trains of thought but ultimately allow us to formulate our own. Balancing research-driven, her intellectually-complex practice lends to an overall delicate dialectical sense of play as well as approachability. Tse’s practice is ultimately not just seen, it is heard and felt; a complete multi-sensory experience that plunges one into a state of suspension.

Su-Mei Tse rose to prominence in 2003 when she represented Luxembourg at the Venice Biennale and was awarded the prestigious Leone d’Oro award for her tripartite installation ‘Air Conditioned’. Tse’s work has since been exhibited internationally including solo shows at Taipei Fine Arts Museum, Taipei (2019); Yuz Museum, Shanghai (2018); Aargauer Kunsthaus, Aarau (2018); Mudam Luxembourg, Luxembourg (2017); Joan Miró Foundation, Barcelona (2011); Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (2009); Art Tower Mito, Japan (2009); Seattle Art Museum, Seattle (2008); PS1, New York (2006); Casino, Forum d’Art Contemporain, Luxembourg (2006); Renaissance Society, Chicago (2005); Moderna Museet, Stockholm (2004). Group exhibitions include the Mori Art Museum, Tokyo (2023); the Biennale of Sydney (2018); the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC (2014); Centre Pompidou, Paris (2013); Kunstmuseum Bonn, Germany (2009); National Gallery of Art, Poland (2009); Singapore Biennale (2008); Kunsthaus Zurich (2006); De Appel, Amsterdam (2005); Sao Paulo Biennale (2004). Tse has additionally been the recipient of multiple prizes, including the Prize for Contemporary Art by the Foundation Prince Pierre of Monaco (2009) and the Edward Steichen Award, Luxembourg (2005). Works by Tse are held in numerous public collections worldwide, including the Centre Pompidou-Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art in Kanazawa, Mudam Luxembourg, the Moderna Museet in Stockholm, the Leeum-Samsung Museum of Art in Seoul, the New Museum of Contemporary Art in New York, and the National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung.