The West Vancouver Art Museum is proud to feature the works of Xiangmei Su and Jiangang Su, two highly accomplished artists from Suzhou, China, who have call British Columbia home. Both artists draw on traditions from their place of origin, bringing with them expertly honed weaving and ink wash painting techniques to create artworks that reveal complex relationships between place and culture.

Xiangmei Su’s threaded works explore her family’s migration story through the lens of Suzhou’s textile history, connecting both past and present, East and West. Jiangang Su has drawn upon centuries of Song dynasty painting and Tang dynasty poetry within his work. Bringing these traditional artforms into a contemporary context, the artist seamlessly merges Chinese literati painting with Vancouver’s local flora and fauna.

Neighbours presents a blend of personal and cultural aspirations, woven into the multicultural fabric of the artist’s new home. Rooted in ancient Chinese traditions and aesthetics, their works offer audiences in the West a glimpse into the core humanistic philosophies of Chinese culture while providing new perspectives on how they “relocated” these traditions in a globalized world.