Portable Index of Trust SuRan Song, 2026. Portable Index of Trust

SuRan Song, Portable Index of Trust, 2026 Custom-covered cigar box with lapel pins. 2" x 11" x 7". Lapel pins comprise a custom-made lexicon of civic trust inspired by Elizabeth Bishop and Václav Havel. The custom-covered cigar box is a proposal to offer the lexicon as a distributable archive of civic habits.

For the People, By the People
Group Exhibition
June 18 - August 30
June 18: Reception and Awards Ceremony, 6pm
Hill-Stead Museum
35 Mountain Road, Farmington, CT

In 2026, as the United States of America commemorates the 250th anniversary of its founding, Hill-Stead Museum is celebrating one essential element of the Declaration of Independence, the people, through this year’s Annual Juried Members Show, titled By the People, For the People.

A Portable Index of Trust is a compact cigar box containing lapel badges, serving as a miniature archive of individuals and ideas that have challenged kings, tyrants, and unchecked authority. Each badge signifies a conscious choice to align with principles of equality before the law, freedom of conscience, and the foundational promise of “We the People,” rather than allegiance to bloodlines or tribes. The design of the cigar box and its lapel pins imply that belonging in the United States is rooted not in genetics but in constitutional values and lived experience. We become “the people” through upholding shared ideals, laws, and the safety and dignity of one another. This piece invites viewers to contemplate which individuals, ideas, and promises they would choose to display on their lapel, and how these symbols might expand our collective sense of “we.”

The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path SuRan Song, The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

Lotus and Lion
International Group Exhibition
June 5 – September 5, 2026
Opening Reception: June 5 from 5-8 pm
Shoshoni Yoga Retreat Center
Rollinsville, Colorado

I turn toward the five difficult states the Buddha described as the Five Hindrances on the Eightfold Path (desire, aversion, lethargy, agitation, and doubt) and render them as sharply observed, spiritually surgical portraits of monkey mind.

Working with intuitive contour drawing, I let each image arise from a kind of snow blindness on the blank page, drawing in the heat of each hindrance as it is felt. The resulting monkey-like figures and pared-down lines give form to experiences that are usually invisible, hovering between caricature and self-portrait. I’m interested in how viewers project their own inner states onto these sparse marks and post-consumer wrappers within the near-emptiness of the frame.

These works sit at the edge of humor and discomfort, inviting a direct yet contemplative encounter with the obstacles that shape uneasy consciousnesses.

SuRan Song, The First of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

SuRan Song, 2026. The First of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path Marker on paper, post-consumer wrappers, glue, shadow box 12" x 9" x .5"

From the Pali kāmacchanda, often translated as “sensory desire,” this caricature depicts the monkey-mind chasing pleasure through the six senses. It reminds us to put away the phone and rest in simple contentment with what is here, now, in hand.

SuRan Song, The Second of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

SuRan Song, 2026. The Second of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path Marker on paper, post-consumer wrappers, glue, shadow box 12" x 9" x .5"

From the Pali vyāpāda, or “ill-will,” this caricature shows the monkey-mind lost in hostility, resentment, hatred, anger, and even bored rejection of the present moment. It prompts us to ask whether this anger is truly constructive or leading away from love.

SuRan Song, The Third of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

SuRan Song, 2026. The Third of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path Marker on paper, post-consumer wrappers, glue, shadow box 12" x 9" x .5"

Often translated as Sloth and Torpor from the Pali thīna-middha, I call him Missin’ Monkey: crying an ocean on his beach, using a cupcake-sippy pacifier, head on a cheese-wedge pillow. His portrait reminds me to comfort him, then get him gently moving instead of pushing to sweat.

SuRan Song, The Fourth of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

SuRan Song, 2026. The Fourth of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path Marker on paper, post-consumer wrappers, glue, shadow box 12" x 9" x .5"

Often translated as Restlessness-and-worry from the Pali uddhacca-kukkucca, I call him Jaws the Monkey, as his mix of excitement and fear creates acute anxiety, like being caught in a shark’s jaws. This caricature is a prompt not to spread emotional insecurity.

SuRan Song, The Fifth of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path, 2026

SuRan Song, 2026. The Fifth of The Five Hindrances on The Buddha's Path Marker on paper, post-consumer wrappers, glue, shadow box 12" x 9" x .5"

Portrait of “Mopping Monkey,” the embodiment of vicikiccha (doubt). Forever scrubbing away imagined flaws, he represents the fault‑finding mind that erodes confidence in oneself and breeds distrust toward others and the wider world.

A Partial Index of Trust

SuRan Song, 2026. A Partial Index of Trust. Acrylic transfers, handprinted text, printed text on Kroy tape, post-consumer wrappers on wooden panels in cherry wood box cradles. 9 x 9 x 1.5 inches each.

HOME v.2: Homeland
International Group Exhibition
May 29 - July 18, 2026
Opening reception Friday, May 29 from 6:30-9pm
Decatur Library, Main Branch
215 Sycamore Street, Decatur, Georgia
Presented by the Decatur Arts Alliance

A Partial Index of Trust, 2026, is a condensed attempt to name some of the people and practices that hold civic life together, even under authoritarian pressure. Mixed media on wood (paint, varnish, post-consumer wrappers, and short biographies on Kroy tape) turns the surface into a cross between an altar, a bulletin board, and a file drawer.

The index includes Maria Ressa, Andrei Sakharov, Corazon Aquino, Václav Havel, Lech Wałęsa, José Mujica, Liu Xiaobo, Sophie Scholl, Nelson Mandela (early period), Desmond Tutu, Juan Carlos I, Václav Benda, Kim Dae-jung, Óscar Romero, Adam Michnik, Genaro Arriagada, Patricio Aylwin, Jacek Kuroń, Benigno Aquino Jr., and Óscar Arias Sánchez. Across different countries, they took risky, nonviolent paths to confront dictatorship, defend facts, and widen space for democratic life. They made examples of “home” and “homeland” imagined as communities of dignity living in truth together in public.

Non‑Zero‑Sum Generations SuRan Song, Non‑Zero‑Sum Generations, 2026

SuRan Song, Non‑Zero‑Sum Generations, 2026

National Collage Society 29th Annual Exhibit
May 14 - June 30, 2026
The Florida Atlantic University Galleries
777 Glades Rd, Boca Raton, Florida

Non‑Zero‑Sum Generations is a 4 x 6 inch collage that talks back to Homer’s image of "generations of leaves, generations of men." In Iliad Book 6, lines 145 - 150, human lives fall and are replaced, anonymous and expendable. This work refuses that logic and asks: Who is allowed to speak?

Changming Fan's Garden, 2026

SuRan Song, Changming Fan's Garden, 2026

This series of watercolors emerged from following the story of Mr. Changming Fan and the small garden he built behind his senior housing building in Saline, Michigan. I never visited the garden or met Mr. Fan; I encountered it first through press photos and local news coverage as the space was placed at risk of being bulldozed.

I've been painting gardens and quiet spaces for years, but seeing his garden in peril sharpened my attention to how a single tended place can hold safety after homelessness and dignity in aging. Working from these mediated images, I focused on what could be glimpsed at a distance, the tilt of a fence, the density of leaves, the way paths seemed to open and close, as a way of honoring his labor and care without claiming first‑hand knowledge.

As the garden's future remains uncertain, these paintings are both an act of witnessing and a record of what stands to be lost: not only flowers and soil, but the fragile, hard‑won sense of home that gathers around one small, tended plot.

For the Sake of Civic Trust, 2026 SuRan Song, For the Sake of Civic Trust, 2026 outside The Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC

SuRan Song, For the Sake of Civic Trust, Valentine's Day, 2026 outside The Metropolitan Museum of Art NYC

For the Sake of Civic Trust grows out of years of lovingly observing New York’s streets and parks, noticing how small pieces of public space quietly shape how we move, pause, and encounter one another. Benches, sidewalks, railings, planters, the odd corners of Central Park, all of these ordinary structures hold traces of care, neglect, tension, and improvisation that make up civic life.

In this series, I work with fellow local artists to build civic trust by creating pop-up tabletop exhibits, small rooms within public space for shared moments of living in public together, looking honestly at local art on the table about public trust. Influenced by Václav Havel’s writing on “living in truth” and Arte Povera's humble strategies, we encourage curiosity about modest details: the worn edge of a step, the way bodies cluster around shade, the improvised repairs that keep something barely functioning. Installed as open-air interventions, these works invite viewers to feel curious and reflective about how attending to our shared spaces might change what we expect from public life and each other.

You're Soaking In It!

An interactive public sculpture
(Inaugural iteration: Spring–Summer 2025
Wave Hill, Sunroom Project Space
Glyndor Terrace Garden)

More project info here.

Photos below: Stefan Hagen

SuRan Song & William M. Weis III, installation view of You're Soaking in It at Wave Hill Glyndor Terrance Garden, 2025

You're Soaking in It!, 2025 Wave Hill Public garden. Installation view. Interactive sculpture.

Storage States

More project info here.

Parallel Lives

Group exhibition
October 2024
Governors Island
Bronx Council on the Arts

Featured Artists: Odalys Burgoa, Clara Cruz, Michelle Frick, Woojin Lee, and Haley Robinson.

SuRan Song, Parallel Lives, Install View 1

SuRan Song, installation view from Parallel Lives, 2024

SuRan Song, Parallel Lives, Install View 2

SuRan Song, installation view from Parallel Lives, 2024

SuRan Song, Parallel Lives, Install View of 'Sketch of Desire', October 2024

SuRan Song, installation view: Sketch of Desire, 2024 Colored chalk and clear packing tape to touch light through window.

SuRan Song, Rustbelt Reaganomics for Independence Day, 2021 Black vinyl card table top, red pillowcase, origami, and tape. 48 x 36 x 3 inches.

To listen to the artwork's original song, "Fuquan," scan the QR code below.

National Collage Society
40th Annual Juried Exhibit

Meyerhoff Gallery
Maryland Institute College of Art
1300 W. Mount Royal Avenue
Baltimore, MD 21214

November 8th through December 15th
Opening reception on
Thursday, November 14, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm

SuRan Song, Rustbelt Reaganomics for Christmas, 2022 Gesso, paint, cardboard box, sundry shipping materials. 48 x 72 x 3 inches.

AWARD WINNER

The Award of Excellence, the highest honor at the 37th Annual Northern National Art Competition, was won from over 700 international entries. The exhibition took place at the Nicolet College Art Gallery in Rhinelander, WI, and was juried by Debra Brehmer, co-curated with Jennifer Bonardelli.

SuRan Song, Even The Tokabis From Dad's House Was Displaced (+ original song Cribbage in Provincetown), 2022 Diptych of aluminum substrate with acrylic print 12 x 18 inches

The Paths We Cross: Perspectives from the Korean Diaspora, Wailoa Center & the University of Hawaiʻi at Hilo. Curated by Mizin Shin. Produced by Michael Marshall and Seri Luangphinith. Award winner: selected for 3rd Prize

SuRan Song, I Undo Dreams of Destruction! Lu-Oh! (Chocolate from Duchamp! Sky from Magritte! Poetry from Taneum Bambrick!), 2023
“The Bride Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors”, the masterpiece by Duchamp, inspired this sculpture. The Ancient Greek verb pronounced (lu-oh), which can mean to free, to destroy, to undo, or to unbind, occupies a new dream for The Bride. Instead of being put through The Chocolate Grinder by The Nine Malic Molds of the Bachelors, she metabolizes liberation, hangs their chocolate tray, and drinks sky.
Box, sundry shipping materials 54 x 54 inches.
Exhibitions include
Exchanges: dialogues between poetry and art
Photography + Sculpture 2023, Rowayton Arts Center

Awarded Honorable Mention
Juror: Hans Neleman

SuRan Song, The Soft Vowels - Acquisition, Extraction, 2024 Collage on gessoed cardboard 4 x 6 inches

SuRan Song, The Soft Vowels - Idiosyncrasy, Obsession, 2024 Collage on gessoed cardboard 4 x 6 inches

SuRan Song, The Soft Vowels - Udder, 2024 Collage on gessoed cardboard 4 x 6 inches

One of the collages from my latest series, The Soft Vowels, is exhibited in the National Collage Society's 2024 Small Format Exhibit mounted at The Art Gallery of Connecticut State University from February 29th to April 12, 2024.

OPENING RECEPTION
Thursday, February 29th at 4:30 p.m.

The Art Gallery at Eastern Connecticut State University
83 Windham Street
Willimantic, CT 06226

Katonah Museum of Art
2021 International Juried Biennial
Cladogram, Curated by Yasmeen Siddiqui
August Christy, performance-art-based video painting with original rock song. C-print stills and performance-art-based video panting by SuRan Song. Music by SuRan Song and Keith Marlowe.
SuRan Song - vocals, lyrics, melody
Keith Marlowe - guitar
Andrew Shahan - drums
Joel Breen - bass
Recorded and Produced by Adam Lasus

August Christy by SuRan Song, Katonah Museum of Art 2021 International Juried Biennial Cladogram, Curated by Yasmeen Siddiqui

Rustbelt Reaganomics for Election Day by SuRan Song

SuRan Song, Rustbelt Reaganomics for Election Day, 2021. Gesso, paint, cardboard box, sundry shipping materials 54 x 54 inches

Artist's Video Statement

Curator's Video Statement

AWARD WINNER

From 434 entries from 38 states and 4 countries, selected for 3rd Prize

National Collage Society 39th Annual Juried Exhibit
29 August – 30 September 2023
The Galleries at Kean University
Liberty Hall Academic Center
Union, New Jersey

Curated by Dr. Lynette A. Zimmerman, Ed.D, M.S.
Executive Director
Liberty Hall Academic Center and Galleries
Kean University
Jurors: Cynthia Behr, Jeff Katzin, Cory Peeke
Press: Union News Daily

Power Flower Window

2015

SuRan Song, 2015. Power Flower Window. Ayurvedic flower medicine mandalas on poly-silk substrate. 13’ x 16’. Each power flower mandala measures 30 x 40 inches. Inspired by the Rg Veda 3.26.10: "Let us experience the finest light of that radiant regeneration to guide our thoughts.” Open edition.

On Nature (Logos (λόγος) In The Sky With Diamonds)

2015

SuRan Song, 2015. On Nature (Logos (λόγος) In The Sky With Diamonds). Birch plywood, transparent plexiglass, white paint, lipstick, and residue mist from the breath. 20 x 20 x 100 inches

On Nature (Ousia (οὐσία) Song of Apology to The Bees)

2015

SuRan Song, 2015. On Nature (Ousia (οὐσία) Song of Apology to The Bees). Birch plywood, transparent plexiglass, white paint, honey, electric guitar strings, microphone pick-ups, and amplifier. 24 x 24 x 72 inches

On Nature (Tokos (τόκος) Minimum Wage)

2015

SuRan Song, 2015. On Nature (Tokos (τόκος) Minimum Wage). Birch plywood, transparent plexiglass, white paint, red lipstick, and recitation of my poem, “Minimum Wage.” 24 x 24 x 48 inches

Power Flower Anthologia

2014

SuRan Song, 2014. Power Flower Anthologia. Ayurvedic floral medicine bouquet composed as a column. The Flower Shower mandala bouquet is: Dogwood (healing physical body by expanding etheric body), Foxglove (opening toward playfulness and joy), Crabapple (understanding the nature of living and being human), Gold (self-esteem, self-identity, creativity). c-print, 64 x 16 inches. Edition of 10.

AgitStage

2012

SuRan Song, 2012. AgitStage. Repurposed jet ski trailer, plywood, hardware, exterior house paint, p.a. system, projectors on tripods for performances on the stage platform, and generator. Portable stage to deliver new songs, poems, and action art images into local communities across the country in parking lots, parks, and festivals. Second edition. 96 x 48 x 36 inches

Collage works by internationally recognized artists to be displayed at Kean University, Union News Daily

Union News Daily – September 9, 2023

https://unionnewsdaily.com/news/union/collage-works-by-internationally-recognized-artists-to-be-displayed-at-kean-university

UNION, NJ — The Galleries at Kean University features the top artistic talent in the medium of collage this fall with the National Collage Society: 39th Annual Juried Exhibit at the Liberty Hall Academic Center gallery through Saturday, Sept. 30.

An opening reception, free and open to the public, was at LHAC on Kean’s Union campus on Wednesday, Sept. 6.

The exhibition includes 55 high-quality works by a wide range of artists that exemplify this often understated, yet challenging and highly rewarding art form. Collage offers artists unparalleled opportunities to create textured concepts and designs.

Professional artist and Kean alumna Barbara Minch served as adjudicator of the exhibition.

“I have significant experience working in collage. The array of work and professionalism displayed by the artists in this show was impressive,” she said.

Suran Song, Rustbelt Reaganomics for Election Day, 2021. Gesso, paint, cardboard box, sundry shipping materials 54 x 54 inches

Artists winning first, second and third place were Kenneth Falana, based in Florida, and Sheryl Renee Dobson and Suran Song, both based in New York. Falana is a contemporary printmaker, retired art educator and self-described colorist who draws on remembered experiences from his childhood to inform his own improvised style, which he calls “silkscreen construction collage.” Song melds art and sound into her work and uses her routine mantra meditation practice to inspire her creative process. Dobson, an abstract expressionist painter and collagist, explores human microcosms that exist within a divine macrocosmic background.

Other artists featured in the exhibition are New Jersey’s Kasandra Pantoja, who received honorable mention for her textile on canvas piece, “She Is…The Future,” and Gayle Gerson, of Colorado, who won The President’s Award, granted by Gretchen Bierbaum, president and founder of the National Collage Society.

“It’s an honor to host this exhibition, celebrate the work of so many talented artists, and to promote the advancement of collage as a major art medium,” said Lynette A. Zimmerman, executive director of the Liberty Hall Academic Center and the Galleries at Kean.

Nov.05

Nov.07

Canvas-stele Seva-transmit, 2014.
Participatory painting on raw canvas.
100″ x 39.75″

Social Justice Art Conference 3/7/15 keynote speaker, Marit Dewhurst.

Mudra Flower Shower: Celandine (seeing and knowing one’s highest thoughts), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Celandine (seeing and knowing one’s highest thoughts), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Chamomile (presencing sunlight, equanimity), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Chamomile (presencing sunlight, equanimity), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Baby Blue Eyes (restoring trust in the goodness of the world), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Baby Blue Eyes (restoring trust in the goodness of the world), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: California Wild Rose (catalyzing love for human life and the Earth), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: California Wild Rose (catalyzing love for human life and the Earth), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Dandelion (alleviating muscle tension from over-striving), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Dandelion (alleviating muscle tension from over-striving), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Dogwood (healing physical body by expanding etheric body), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Dogwood (healing physical body by expanding etheric body), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Echinacea (restoring intrinsic dignity to our relationship with humanity and the Earth), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Echinacea (restoring intrinsic dignity to our relationship with humanity and the Earth), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Harebell (freedom from fear to sense the entire universe as home), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Harebell (freedom from fear to sense the entire universe as home), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Pink Mimosa Mariposa Lily (finding the archetypal mother within), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Mariposa Lily (finding the archetypal mother within), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.

Mudra Flower Shower: Pink Mimosa (integrating soul and ego regardless of influences), Suran Song 2014

Nov.06

Mudra Flower Shower: Pink Mimosa (integrating soul and ego regardless of influences), 2014.
Series of edition photographs incorporating projected flower mandalas into hands held in mudras.
16″ x 20″
Edition of 20.