{"id":39906,"date":"2026-10-18T09:11:53","date_gmt":"2026-10-18T07:11:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/when-the-present-remembers\/"},"modified":"2026-11-12T19:08:30","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T18:08:30","slug":"when-the-present-remembers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/when-the-present-remembers\/","title":{"rendered":"When the Present Remembers."},"content":{"rendered":"

When the Present Remembers.<\/h2>
<\/div>
SU XIAOBAI<\/h5>\n<\/div><\/div>

Summer 2027<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>

\"\"<\/div>
\u00a9 Photo: SDKM, Su Xiobai<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

When the Present Remembers.<\/strong>
\nEarly Works on Paper as a Source in Dialogue with the Work of Today<\/p>\n

Special Exhibition at Museum DKM DKM<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Museum DKM presents an exhibition dedicated to the internationally acclaimed artist Su Xiaobai, featuring rarely exhibited works on paper from his early career. Realised in close collaboration with the artist and with the support of the Su Xiaobai Foundation, the exhibition brings together a carefully selected group of works from the Klock Donation, now part of the museum\u2019s collection.
\nAt its heart is the rediscovery of a formative period in the artist\u2019s practice. At the same time, the early works on paper enter into dialogue with his current work, opening up new perspectives on the continuities, transformations and trajectories that have shaped the evolution of his artistic language.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

When the Present Remembers.<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Su Xiaobai was born in Wuhan, China, in 1949. He began his artistic training in 1965 at the School of Arts and Crafts in his hometown before continuing his studies at the Central Academy of Fine Arts in Beijing. In 1987, he came to Germany on a scholarship and became the first Chinese student to be admitted to the Kunstakademie D\u00fcsseldorf, where he studied under Konrad Klapheck. There, he engaged intensively with Western avant-garde art. Through exchanges with Konrad Klapheck, Gerhard Richter and Markus L\u00fcpertz, he developed an independent visual language that led him from his early social realist works towards abstraction. In his later work, he combines impulses from the Western avant-garde with the traditions of Chinese philosophy and aesthetics. Su Xiaobai lives and works in Shanghai and D\u00fcsseldorf.<\/p>\n

Su Xiaobai is internationally renowned above all for his abstract lacquer paintings. The exhibition at Museum DKM, however, focuses on his early, largely little-known works on paper. They illustrate the development of his artistic language and bear witness to a period of experimentation, exploration and reorientation. Letters and poetic texts complement the presentation, offering insights into the longstanding relationship between the artist and Karl-Hermann Klock.<\/p>\n

Duisburg art collector Karl-Hermann Klock (1940 \u2013 2017) had been following Su Xiaobai\u2019s artistic development since his student years at the Kunstakademie D\u00fcsseldorf. Through the continuous acquisition of early works on paper, he supported the artist\u2019s development over many years. A special relationship grew between collector and artist, characterised by mutual trust and personal exchange, as reflected in their extensive correspondence and the poetic texts that have been preserved. Seeking a permanent home for this unique collection of artworks and personal documents, Klock found a fitting place for it at Museum DKM. In 2016, the collection became part of the museum\u2019s holdings. It preserves not only a significant chapter in Su Xiaobai\u2019s early artistic career, but also the history of a longstanding artistic bond.<\/p>\n

Su Xiaobai\u2019s work has been exhibited internationally in galleries and museums, including Tina Keng Gallery in Taipei, Pearl Lam Galleries in Hong Kong, Langen Foundation in Neuss and Shanghai Art Museum. His work has also been presented at major international art fairs, including Art Basel, TEFAF Maastricht and The Armory Show in New York.<\/p>\n

Su Xiaobai\u2019s more recent lacquer paintings have likewise attracted considerable international attention. Until November 2026, they are being presented in the historic Palazzo Soranzo Van Axel in Venice\u2019s Cannaregio district. Organised by the Su Xiaobai Foundation in collaboration with the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), the exhibition is an official collateral exhibition of the 2026 Biennale Arte.<\/p>\n

The exhibition Su Xiaobai<\/strong> \u2013 When the Present Remembers<\/strong>, planned for summer 2027, is co-curated by Su Xiaobai and Ronald Kiwitt, a sinologist and art critic. Kiwitt has undertaken scholarly research into the works in the Klock Collection and examined Su Xiaobai\u2019s early works on paper from an art-historical perspective. His study of the artworks, together with the accompanying correspondence and poetic texts, provides an important foundation for the joint curatorial concept developed with the artist.<\/p>\n

An initial, smaller survey exhibition was previously organised in collaboration with the Confucius Institute Nuremberg-Erlangen. The presentation at Museum DKM builds on this work, bringing Su Xiaobai\u2019s early works on paper into dialogue with his current practice. The juxtaposition of different periods in his career reveals both the transformations in his artistic forms of expression and the fundamental questions that continue to inform his work.<\/p>\n

Jun Zhang, Founder and CEO of the Su Xiaobai Foundation in Los Angeles, USA, is responsible for a substantial part of the organisational coordination and has provided invaluable support in facilitating collaboration among all those involved. We extend our heartfelt thanks to her for her valuable contribution and dedicated support in preparing and realising the exhibition.<\/p>\n

The fact that Su Xiaobai was born in Wuhan lends the exhibition in Duisburg an additional dimension: the two cities have been twinned since 1982, fostering exchanges between China and Germany on many levels. The exhibition thus builds another bridge between Wuhan and Duisburg\u2014a connection that extends beyond economic and geographical ties and is sustained by art, personal encounters and mutual understanding.<\/p>\n

In a city that, as a major European hub of the New Silk Road, makes the connections between China and Europe visible every day, this idea takes on particular relevance. The exhibition also seeks to contribute to the intellectual and emotional exchange between cultures and invites visitors to discover the power of art to connect people across national borders.<\/p>\n

G\u00fcnther Schlo\u00df, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>

Su Xiaobai’s Early Ink Works: Tradition and Abstraction in Dialogue<\/strong><\/h3>\n

The early ink works by Su Xiaobai documented in this collection mark a decisive phase in the development of his artistic output. The artist employed various ink techniques on xuan paper and began to add calligraphic texts to individual works. At the center of this group of works is the connection between text and image, which follows China’s centuries-old painting tradition while at the same time bringing the composition of the overall work to the fore.[1]<\/sup><\/p>\n

In wet ink, Su Xiaobai created abstract and amorphous forms that cover the paper centrally, while the texts written with a fine brush and dry ink follow a tradition of balance (see Figs. 1 and 2).<\/p>\n

This approach is to be understood as a conscious step in the development of his creative output: from the influences of modernity that Su Xiaobai learned in Germany, he now turned to a traditional Chinese mode of painting. His approach, however, differs fundamentally from traditional Chinese ink painting, in which the poem or colophon supplements the painted image with a poetic text. Su Xiaobai, by contrast, created a harmonious connection between abstract forms and a text that appears to have been chosen arbitrarily. In this way, works on paper emerged that appear to the viewer in perfect balance and elegance, without necessarily establishing any substantive connection between text and image.<\/p>\n

If one looks at Su Xiaobai’s current work, a development toward abstraction can be recognized in his early paper works. Amorphous forms and applied color tones still determine the artist’s aesthetic today. This achievement, which is clearly evident in his paper works, underlines the significance of the extensive collection at the Museum DKM.<\/p>\n

The art-historical classification is supplemented by a personal source: in 2025, Su Xiaobai wrote down his memories of Mr. Klock in detail. In one excerpt, he describes the two men’s first encounter, which was characterized by politeness and verbal restraint. Klock showed interest exclusively in the small ink drawings on paper and attributed to them a kind of “gloomy charm” as well as an attraction that he called “small time.” Su Xiaobai emphasizes that at the time he did not understand what Klock meant, and that he does not know to this day; he always had the feeling that they missed each other in their communication. This, however, did not impair their friendship.
\nIt is precisely this discrepancy between verbal understanding and artistic recognition that points to the inherent logic of the early ink works, which resist unambiguous discursive interpretation and instead rely on immediate visual contemplation.<\/p>\n

“Most of the day, in natural light, I worked on my large-format oil paintings. In the evening, when it became cold and the light was dim, I sat close to the heater. What was I to do? I took a sheet of rice paper, cut it into small pieces, about the size of writing paper, and began applying ink with a brush. I wrote letters, words, calligraphies\u2014chaotically, aimlessly. I copied the text of the Zheng Wengong Bei, the Sunu Jing, or recipes. I drew lines with a thin brush, drew circles, one after another, let the ink, soaked with tea, seep into the crumpled and smoothed paper. It was freedom. It was joy. I watched how the water stains on the paper changed, and improvised, letting something emerge from the light and shadow effects that looked like a picture. They were actually not real pictures, but shapes difficult to describe, impossible to name. Perhaps that was precisely what attracted Mr. Klock so much<\/em>.”[2]<\/sup><\/p>\n

Karl-Hermann Klock recorded his admiration for Su Xiaobai’s paper works in numerous writings and collected newspaper articles that reported on Su Xiaobai in Germany.[3]<\/sup><\/p>\n

In 2016, Klock bequeathed his extensive collection of Su Xiaobai’s paper works to the Museum DKM in Duisburg, which will be presented to the public for the first time in an extensive exhibition in close collaboration with the artist.<\/p>\n

Ronald Kiwitt, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Fig. 1<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
\"Su-Xioabai-2\"<\/div>
Su Xiaobai, Unt., 1992\u201395, ink on xuan paper, 34 x 35 cm<\/div>
\u00a9 Photo: SDKM, Su Xiobai<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

Top right:<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u7ec6\u7ec6\u5730\u89c2\u5bdf\u4e00\u4e0b\u6211\u4eec\u8fd8\u53d1\u73b0\u56fe\u7684\u521b\u4f5c\uff0c
\n\u8fd8\u662f\u8fd0\u7528\u4e86\u5bf9\u7acb\u7edf\u4e00\u7684\u539f\u7406\uff0c
\n\u8fd0\u7528\u53cc\u5173\u548c\u7834\u6574\u7684\u65b9\u5f0f\uff0c
\n\u6240\u4ee5\u79f0\u4f5c\u4e4b\u5149\u7684\u56fe\u6848\u4e5f\u3002<\/p>\n

If we look closely, we find that the composition of the picture still applies the principle of the unity of opposites, using puns and the breaking of structure. It can therefore also be called the pattern of light.<\/p>\n

Bottom left: <\/strong><\/p>\n

\u5149\u5b9e\u662f\u6700\u96be\u4ee5\u8868\u73b0\u5f97\u624b\u7684\u54e9\uff0c
\n\u5149\u662f\u751f\u7269\u9700\u8981\u7684\uff0c
\n\u4e5f\u662f\u751f\u4ea7\u52b3\u52a8\u9700\u8981\u7684\u3002<\/p>\n

Light is indeed the most difficult thing to depict. Light is what living beings need, and it is also what is necessary for productive labor.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong>\u00a0 This text emphasizes that the principle of the unity of opposites was applied in the composition of the work, using puns and the breaking of structure to enhance the depth of the work. The discussion of light shows both the difficulty of depicting light in art and its symbolic significance. Light is not only a fundamental need for life and labor, but also an important expressive element in the work that carries deeper philosophical meaning.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

Fig. 2<\/span><\/span><\/div><\/div>
\"Su-Xioabai-2\"<\/div>
Su Xiaobai, Unt., 1992\u201395, ink on xuan paper, 34 x 35 cm<\/div>
\u00a9 Photo: SDKM, Su Xiobai<\/div><\/div><\/div>
<\/div>

\u6e2d\u6e2d\u4e0d\u58c5\uff0c\u7ec8\u4e3a\u6c5f\u6cb3
\n\u6e2d\u6d93\u7ec6\u6c34\u6162\u6d41\u7684\u6837\u5b50\u3002
\n\u58c5:\u585e \u5f55\u81ea\u300a\u5b54\u5b50\u5bb6\u8bed\u00b7\u89c2\u5468\u300b<\/p>\n

If the water of the Wei River is not dammed up, it will eventually become a great river.
\nIt describes the gentle and slow flowing of the Wei stream. ‘Yong’ here means ‘to block.’
\nTaken from Kongzi Jiayu \u00b7 Guan Zhou.<\/p>\n

Note:<\/strong> This verse comes from the “Kongzi Jiayu” (\u5b54\u5b50\u5bb6\u8bed); some characters cannot be determined with certainty. Fundamentally, the verse deals with the idea that all things, when they develop, ultimately continue to flow like the river’s current, expressing a far-reaching and calm attitude toward handling matters. In\u300a\u5b54\u5b50\u00b7\u89c2\u5468\u300b there is the sentence: “\u6d93\u6d93\u4e0d\u58c5\uff0c\u7ec8\u4e3a\u6c5f\u6cb3.” This means: If small streams are not blocked, they eventually flow together and become great rivers. This sentence expresses the philosophy that small efforts add up and that through perseverance great successes can be achieved. Although the sentence in the image differs from this original quotation, it can be said with certainty that it derives from this source sentence.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>

[1] See: Hearn, Maxwell K. \u201cChinese Painting.\u201d In Heilbrunn Timeline of Art History<\/em>. New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2000\u2013. https:\/\/www.metmuseum.org\/essays\/chinese-painting (June 2008; accessed November 1, 2026).
\n[2] Su Xiaobai: Memories of Mr. Klock (2025), translated from Chinese.
\n[3] See: Peter Klucken, Rheinische Post, 1991.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div><\/section>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Su Xiaobai (CN, DE)
\nSummer\/Autumn 2027<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":39905,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,762],"tags":[562,738,334,734,716,763],"class_list":["post-39906","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exh-upcoming-exhibitions","category-pk-sx","tag-china-en","tag-modern","tag-moderne-kunst-en","tag-oil","tag-painting","tag-su-xiobai"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39906","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=39906"}],"version-history":[{"count":10,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39906\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":40233,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/39906\/revisions\/40233"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/39905"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=39906"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=39906"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/museumdkm.de\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=39906"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}