Artwork Description

Title:Urban Landscape

Artist:
Su Xinping

Date:
2001

Medium:
Oil on canvas

Dimensions:
139 × 202 cm (54.7 × 79.5 in)

Artwork Identification:
Urban Landscape is a large-scale oil on canvas by Su Xinping, notable for its subdued palette and emotionally charged figurative style. Measuring 139 by 202 centimeters, the composition features a full-length portrait of two male figures rendered in muted grayscale. The two men stand side-by-side, their expressions solemn and introspective. Each displays subtle yet striking gestures—one touching his forehead, the other concealing part of his face—imbuing the work with a quiet psychological intensity. The background dissolves into soft monochrome tones, anchoring the figures within a seemingly undefined, urban atmosphere.

Artistic Style and Influences:
Su Xinping’s work is widely recognized for its exploration of psychological depth within stark, often desaturated environments. This piece reflects a mature development of his figurative language: blending elements of social realism with a minimalist, existential aesthetic. The soft-focus, tonal quality evokes both German Neue Sachlichkeit portraiture and aspects of traditional Chinese ink wash sensibility—flattened spatial depth, controlled emotion, and visual restraint. The emotional subtlety within the figures suggests an affinity with Lucian Freud’s confrontational intimacy, filtered through a distinctly Chinese cultural and political lens.

Historical Context:
Emerging in the post-Mao cultural landscape, Su Xinping belongs to a generation of Chinese artists who use figuration to explore identity, alienation, and the shifting meaning of modernity. During the 1990s and 2000s, as China underwent massive urban and societal transformation, Su’s work began to turn inward—portraying individuals caught between public conformity and private tension. Urban Landscape likely responds to this context, reflecting the dislocation experienced by individuals within the ever-expanding fabric of Chinese urban life.

Provenance and Authenticity:
Provenance documentation can be provided upon contact.

Condition and Conservation:
The painting is in excellent condition overall, only showing minor, almost unnoticeable flaking in two small areas. The surface is stable with no visible signs of cracking, overpainting, or restoration. No conservation work is currently required.

Artistic Significance:
Su Xinping is regarded as one of the most introspective voices in contemporary Chinese figurative painting. Urban Landscape is a significant example of his emotionally charged portraiture, offering both a personal and sociopolitical reflection. Works such as this continue to attract interest from collectors and institutions for their unique psychological resonance and their position within the development of post-socialist Chinese visual culture.