The Second Home

MSP Terminal 1, G Colonnade Gallery
April 17, 2024 - April 1, 2025

For this exhibition, Suyao created a series of water-based paintings that express the feeling and emotion experienced as an immigrant from China to the Twin Cities – the place she is most emotionally connected to and calls “home.” This project documents the process of her family exploring the Twin Cities through daily life, walking through neighborhoods, traversing parks and lakes, and exploring nature on foot.

Through her use of vibrant colors, fluid lines, and organic shapes, she desires to remind viewers of the interconnectedness of our world and the importance of taking time to reflect and connect with our surroundings. Her art is a testament to the resilience and strength of the human spirit, and she believes it has the power to bring peace and happiness to all who view it.

About Suyao Tian

Suyao Tian is a professional artist based in Minnesota and currently serves as adjunct faculty at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. Originally from China, she holds a BFA in Music Education, a BA in Fine Art, and an MFA in Design. Her paintings have been featured in numerous group and solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally. Moreover, in the field of commercial art, she has collaborated with renowned companies such as Target, Room & Board, BOND Dubai, Merlette NYC, and others.

Imagination is integral to her work. She uses water-based media to create abstract paintings, employing abstract forms and shapes. She often enlarges or distorts these elements to construct dreamlike landscapes and peculiar, otherworldly beings within an imaginative world.

Tian’s artistic practice is heavily influenced by her upbringing. “Growing up as a single child during China's one-child-only policy in the 80s, I navigated the impacts of cultural norms, expectations, and a highly competitive exam-oriented education system which prioritized memorization over critical thinking and imaginative problem-solving,” says Tian. “This has affected generations in both school and family education. As a child there was an absence of siblings, a prohibition of having pets, and limited social interactions because of rules which resulted in a lack of communication and confidence. As a result, my means of expressing emotions were found in nature, where I would catch small bugs, put them in jars, speak to them, and play with them—becoming my only childhood listeners.”

Now as a professional artist her imagination still seeks inspiration from nature, extracting fragments of memory, imagination, and subconscious thinking for her creations. These have become symbolic in the language of her paintings.

Web: SuyaoTian.com
Instagram: @suyaotian
Email: [email protected]