Su Xiaobai’s Alchemical Universe

Su Xiaobai: Alchemical Universe presents a focused survey of Su Xiaobai’s practice, where painting is redefined through the ancient medium of lacquer. Bridging Chinese literati traditions and postwar European abstraction, the artist transforms lacquer into a dense, sculptural surface built through layered pigment, mineral powders, and organic materials. Rather than functioning as a coating, lacquer becomes substance. Applied in multiple layers, it produces works that shift between depth and opacity, revealing a slow, almost alchemical process of making. The exhibition traces this material evolution, highlighting Su’s move away from figuration toward a meditative exploration of surface, time, and transformation