thumb|right|400px|'Jurassic Age', bronze, steel and industrial paint sculpture by Sui Jianguo, 2006, private collection

Sui Jianguo (), professor and ex-chairman of the Department of Sculpture in Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing, is a contemporary Chinese artist.

Biography

Sui was born in Qingdao, China in 1956. Both of his parents were factory workers and were largely absent during his early childhood due to the workload imposed on them by the Mao government. Growing up, Sui witnessed the harsh realities of the Mao years. During this time, Maoist socialist realism became the approved art style. This style generally portrayed Maoist ideals in a romantic positive light. These images were used to create a cult of personality for Mao. At the age of ten, schools were closed as part of the Cultural Revolution, and Sui began to work in the factories with his parents. In an interview he stated that he was "transfixed in the age of Mao worship, when Mao was virtually a God at home". Painting was not a career option for Sui until the age of eighteen when he broke his arm, which took him away from factory work. According to Sui, during this period he contemplated his "spiritual" life and what he wanted to do with his future. Soon after, and with the permission and guidance of his father, he began studying painting at night under the cover of darkness.

Upon his return to the factory Sui painted propaganda posters of Mao in the socialist realist fashion. His studies and practice gave fruit to his first true work: a traditional Chinese landscape painting, which he completed in 1976 after the death of Mao. After his death, the Chinese government loosened its grip on the population, and educational reforms were quick to follow. Sui took advantage of the new freedoms, and moved to Jinan and then Shandong, where he received his major in sculpture. A few years later he earned his master's degree in Arts at the central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. According to Sui, by the time he had enrolled in college, he had decided he wanted to do sculpture, inspired by his years in the factories, where people would tell him he had "skill in using his hands".

Selected works

Earth Force

Earth Force was one of Sui's earlier works and came to his mind in 1987. The inspiration came when he was experimenting with conceptual and symbolic aspects of materials and mediums. His need to experiment with rocks came after Tiananmen Square; it was during this stage that Sui began working with more quiet materials.

Mao Jackets

Sui Jianguo's Mao Jackets are perhaps his most iconic work. Sui began thinking of the Mao Suit or Sun Yat Sen suit when he visited the birthplace of Sun Yat Sen in August 1996.

Red Dinosaurs

Sui's Red Dinosaurs or Jurassic Age series have also become a trademark of his work. These dinosaurs focus more on China's recent exporting nature, allowing Sui to evaluate the contemporary Chinese export culture. According to 798 ART district, the "Made in China" stamped on several of the dinosaurs' midsection "relates directly to some topics on economical relations". Sui intends to cause the audience to consider who is making a product, where it is going, and why. Sui sometimes cages the dinosaurs. When asked about this, Sui stated that he was suggesting that China's economic expanse "in some ways is not good for China, for the environment and human life... I don't want him to continue getting bigger".

References

  • Artnet
  • ArtZineChina
  • XibArt
  • Sui Jianguo, Hadrien de Montferrand Gallery
  • BigCrow
  • SFGate
  • ArtSlant