Cathy Lu creates ceramic sculptures and installations that manipulate traditional Chinese imagery and presentation as a way to deconstruct assumptions about Chinese diasporic identity and cultural authenticity. Unpacking how experiences of immigration, cultural hybridity, and cultural assimilation become part of American identity is central to her work.

Lu received a BA and BFA from SMFA at Tufts University and an MFA from the San Francisco Art Institute. She has participated in artist-in-residence programs at Kohler Arts Center, Bemis Center for the Arts, Recology San Francisco, Greenwich House Pottery NYC, and the Archie Bray Foundation. Her work has been exhibited at The Armory Show, New York, NY; Art Basel Hong Kong; SFMOMA, Chinese Culture Center, Jessica Silverman Gallery, and Root Division all in San Francisco, CA; A-B Projects and Tiger Strikes Asteroid in Los Angeles, CA; and Galerie du Monde, Hong Kong. Lu was a 2019 Asian Cultural Council/Beijing Contemporary Art Foundation Fellow, and is a 2022 SFMOMA SECA Award winner. Lu’s work has recently been included in the collection of the Asian Art Museum San Francisco, SFMOMA, and Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami.