Life cycle: artist Jia Lu travels through countries, cultures and misfortunes to combine feminine strength with ancient spirituality - Artist profile: Jia Lu - Brief Article

Art Business News, Sept, 2002 by Michelle Kahan

In a painting by Jia Lu, heat and passion coincide with wisdom and spirituality. Vibrant colors mix with striking shadows. The classic European style is infused with Asian philosophy, while the eyes of her ethereal subjects radiate strength, confidence and achievement. Art imitates life, the saying goes, and Lu's story is a picture-perfect example.

Lu was born in Beijing in 1954 into an artistic family. Her father, a watercolor and oil painter, and her mother, a museum exhibit designer, encouraged her ambitions from an early age. "Since I decided to be an artist," she said, "they really did whatever they could to support and teach me." However, the political situation in China prevented her from going to art school. In the meantime, Lu worked as a reporter, a basketball player, a nurse and an actress, among many other jobs. "In China, in that period of time, people didn't know anything about money," she explained. "So sometimes it's just that I was asked by my boss, my leaders, to do different things. Mostly, it was not my choice."

Lu's experience as an actress helped her meet influential artists, but her time as a nurse led her to become fascinated with the human body and spirit. Lu was also confronted with the deaths of her friends and family members while working as a nurse. "I watched them [take their] last breath," she said.

Instead of dwelling on such a disturbing realization, Lu turned it into something positive. She began questioning what she had taken for granted--the truth, the beauty and the meaning of life. And after being shuffled in and out of art school because of politics, she was determined to continue her self-discovery in a more welcoming place. Armed with only her curiosity and two suitcases full of books and paintbrushes, Lu headed for Canada.

What should have been a new start for the young artist was waylaid by what Lu refers to as the "stupid marriage." Her first husband, a Ph.D. student from Hong Kong, nearly crushed her self-esteem and her will to paint.

A divorce and a custody fight helped Lu to regain her confidence, while a trip to Europe led her to discover a new form of painting. Lu, who had previously worked as a traditional Chinese ink painter as well as a mixed-media artist, was fascinated by European oil paintings. When she returned to Canada, she began to paint the rich, expressive and spiritual oil work that would come to define her style.

Now, most of Lu's paintings are a mixture of strength and femininity, with bold colors emphasizing the soft lines of the female figure. Lu has named the style "philosophical realism." While her paintings are romantic and sensual, Lu argued that "romantic realism" would not be the right term. "It's not what I try to reach," she said. "It's not deep enough."

Her models, usually students and relatives, are either semi-nude or draped in luminous and flowing fabric. Lu's artistic background and her years as a nurse helped her to become comfortable with the human figure, but she also thinks the body is a gift from God. Not only that, but it is also a way to promote strength and respect. "Look at Venus, those goddesses," she said. "They're all topless. And you know why? Because they're fearless."

Lu also reaches for a feeling of spirituality in her work. She takes weekly classes in Taoism and Buddhism, but would rather her paintings reflect the philosophy of religion in general rather than a specific religion. She hopes her paintings lead people to contemplate the importance of life and death, as well as to appreciate the natural cycle of living. "I believe artists should be a messenger from God" she said. "That's why I'm concentrating on my art, trying to pass the message." The figurative style of her pieces--the expression in the woman's eyes, her posture, her jewelry and her costume--all add up to a timeless quality of wisdom and purpose.

Lu sees her work as a combination of European and Asian styles. "It's hard to really do some very special things these days," she explained. "My painting is still classic, but I'd rather use a new image, new concept, new philosophy. I want to combine all of them together. That's the wisdom that our masters didn't try."

Lu is confident the message in her work is enough for people to respond to her paintings. At each show, she said, at least two people come up to her in tears. They are so touched that they can reiterate the exact meaning Lu was reaching for in her pieces. She added, "I don't want to shock people, I don't want to grab attention and do something really weird. I just want to be a serious artist."

Throughout her life, Lu's painting style has reflected her own confidence. With her first husband, the women in her paintings gazed out of the darkness with confusion. Now, with a new husband (publisher Geoffery Bonnycastle of Alius Fine Arts) and a new life in California, her work has brightened and her brushstrokes have loosened. More importantly, however, the women in her paintings seem powerful and proud. "I appreciate each single woman as a goddess," she said. "I want to express their confidence from my heart."