LONG ISLAND CITY, NY.- P.S.1 Contemporary Art Center is pleased to present Su-Mei Tse’s first solo museum exhibition in New York. Ms. Tse, an artist based in Luxembourg and Paris, will present two new works—a video and a sculptural installation. Su-Mei Tse is on view in the Third Floor Archive galleries through September 4, 2006. In the video Mistelpartition (2006), Tse transforms a stand of trees into a staff for music, composing rhythms from the natural world. It is a meditative experience where visual and aural elements interact in harmony. Similarly, her installation piece Dong, Xi, Nan, Bei (E, W, S, N) (2006) merges text and the visual arts. Self-illuminating neon sculptures suspended from the ceiling depict the Chinese characters for the four cardinal directions. At once literal and abstract, the work investigates language, place, and geography.

A classically trained cellist, Tse creates work that investigates music, rhythm, melody, and dance. Informed by personal experience—her father is a Chinese violinist and mother an English pianist—Tse’s art, which encompasses photography, sculpture, and video, combines the artistic and cultural traditions of both her parents.

Su-Mei Tse (b. 1973) has exhibited her work internationally, including The Renaissance Society, Chicago; Museet for Samtidskunst, Roskilde, Denmark; Moderna Museet, Stockholm, Sweden; and the 50th Venice Biennale where she was awarded the Golden Lion for the Best National Participation in 2003. Most recently, a major exhibition of her work was presented at Casino Luxembourg—Forum d’Art Contemporain. She currently lives and works in Luxembourg and Paris. Su-Mei Tse is organized by P.S.1 Director Alanna Heiss. This exhibition is funded by the Edward Steichen Award, a new biennial competition for young European artists named in honor of the renowned photographer and former director of the Department of Photography at The Museum of Modern Art. Tse was the first recipient of the prize (2005).

The 2005 Edward Steichen Award has been made possible by the Edward Steichen Award Luxembourg Association in honor of the great Luxembourg-born American photographer. This biennial prize provides a cross-cultural artistic and educational bridge between Luxembourg and New York City and is available to European artists between the ages of 25 and 35. The goal of the Edward Steichen Award is to contribute to the fine arts through the organization and support of a six month artist's residency in New York City, where Steichen spent the longer part of his life. The inaugural award was given in December 2005 by a Luxembourg non-for-profit organization: the E. S. A. Luxembourg asbl.

The Edward Steichen Award is made possible through the cooperation of the family of the late Edward Steichen and through the support of the Ministry of Culture, of Higher Education and Research, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Government’s Information and Press Service of the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg, as well as by the Luxembourg-based companies Arcelor, SES Global, BCEE, and by the Ridgefield Foundation New York and the Luxembourg American Chamber of Commerce New York.