Moving between works on paper and ceramics, Cathy Lu explores cultural identity and traditional Chinese art in her work. Many of her pieces contain dozens of young female characters, scaling classical vases and metaphoric lifeforms. The artist offers some insight into what she’s traversing in her work:
“My work revolves around the manipulation, appropriation, and de-contextualization of traditional Chinese art imagery and presentation as a way to explore how Eastern imagery is seen and understood in the US, and how ideas of cultural ‘authenticity’ and ‘tradition’ interface with contemporary trans-cultural experiences,” the artist has said. “My materials are rooted in traditional Chinese art, working mostly in ceramic – based sculpture and watercolors. My work draws inspiration from the displays at the Asian Art Museum, to fruit markets in Chinese immigrant neighborhoods, and to the trinket shops in Chinatown.”
See more of Lu’s work below.
