Mimian Hsu’s No. 1674 Sección Administrativa acquired by The Phillips Collection

Mimian Hsu, No. 1674 Sección Administrativa, 2007, Embroidered Antique Silk Bed Cover, Document from the National Archive of Costa Rica, 64 x 45 in | 162.6 x 114.3 cm 

Nunu Fine Art is pleased to congratulate artist Mimian Hsu on the acquisition of her work No. 1674 Sección Administrativa (2007) by the prestigious American institution The Phillips Collection. This acquisition marks another important milestone in Hsu’s longstanding artistic engagement with themes of migration history and identity. 

Mimian Hsu is a Costa Rican artist of Taiwanese descent whose practice is deeply informed by her personal experiences. Through a poetic and often non-representational visual language, her work explores cultural hybridity, migration, and questions of identity.  

The acquired work, No. 1674 Sección Administrativa, originates from the artist’s research into the history of Chinese immigration in Costa Rica. The piece draws from a historical document—a letter written in 1907 by two Chinese immigrants who, following the implementation of restrictive immigration policies, petitioned the government for permission to bring their wives and children to the country. Hsu embroidered the full text of the letter in gold thread onto a traditional Chinese silk textile commonly used for newlywed bedsheets. The red fabric, symbolizing happiness and marriage, together with the gold thread, representing value and prestige, reinforces the cultural symbolism of the materials while amplifying the text’s themes of family reunification, fundamental rights, and human dignity. 

The acquisition of No. 1674 Sección Administrativa not only highlights Hsu’s significant contribution to contemporary dialogues on migration and cross-cultural histories, but also further affirms the international recognition of her artistic practice.