鮮銳2022: 烏托花園 | XianRui 2022: Interior Garden

January 20, 2022 – December 17, 2022
Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco

750 Kearny St
3rd Fl
San Francisco, CA

Image courtesy of event organizer.

Image courtesy of event organizer.

The Chinese Culture Center (CCC) proudly presents Interior Garden, a solo exhibition of new, large-scale ceramic installation works by Bay Area artist Cathy Lu.

 

From the hands of creation myth goddess Nüwa to the teary eyes of Ruth Asawa, Lu transforms CCC’s galleries into a contemplative space for reconciliation between the promise of the American dream and the dystopian experiences of so many immigrants and people of color in the U.S. For Asian Americans, deemed as perpetual foreigners, model minorities, and scapegoats, feelings of invisibility and hypervisibility are equally potent and disorienting. Referencing two garden creation myths, Immortal Peach Garden and Garden of Eden, the exhibition transforms CCC’s gallery space into an indoor sculpture garden through a series of newly commissioned large-scale ceramic installations.

 

“Interior Garden” is the seventh iteration of CCC’s decade-long XianRui (Fresh & Sharp) series featuring works by pioneering yet under-recognized artists of Chinese descent.

 

從創世女神女媧之手,到淺澤愛子的婆娑淚眼,《烏托花園》為探索移民在美國尋夢與存在於反烏托邦狀態間的掙扎,創造了一個和解的空間。被視為永久的外人,模範少數族裔、替罪羊、超可見的同時又及其透明,令人迷惑。 此展覽借鑒兩大造園神話(仙桃園和伊甸園),通過一系列全新的大型陶瓷裝置,將CCC畫廊空間轉變為室內雕塑花園。

 

《烏托花園》是 CCC 長達十年之久的鮮銳系列的第七迭代,發掘和扶持先鋒但未收到廣泛關註的華裔離散藝術家。

 

 

About Cathy Lu

Cathy Lu (b. Miami, FL) is a ceramics based artist who manipulates traditional Chinese art imagery and presentation as a way to deconstruct the assumptions we have about Chinese American identity and cultural authenticity. She received her MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute and her BA & BFA from Tufts University. She has participated in artist in residence programs at Root Division SF, Recology SF, and The Archie Bray, MT. Her work has been exhibited at Aggregate Space, Berkeley Art Center, and / Slash Art, SF. She was a 2019 Asian Cultural Council/ Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation Fellow. She currently teaches at California College of the Arts and Mills College and lives in Richmond, CA.

 

About Chinese Culture Center of San Francisco

Chinese Culture Center (CCC) is a non-profit arts organization established in 1965. CCC elevates underserved communities and gives voice to equality through education and contemporary art. Rooted in San Francisco’s Chinatown, CCC is a loud and creative voice to uplift social and economical transformation. We provide a safe environment for artists who champion activism, resiliency, and healthy communities. In doing so, we shift dominant narratives, empower change, and reimagine our futures.