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a r t i s t s       a b o u t

 

linling lu

 

b. 1983 in Zunyi City, Guizhou province, CHINA

Graduated from Beijing Forestry University in 2005

Present: attending the Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA)

Linling Lu moved from Beijing, China to Baltimore, Maryland in 2006 after winning a scholarship to the Maryland Institute College of Art, where she will graduate with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting in December 2008.  She had received a bachelor’s degree in landscape architecture from Beijing Forestry University and worked at a landscape design firm, but felt that only painting would give her creative freedom.  She decided to pursue her artistic dreams despite her father’s disapproval.
           
Linling’s heritage plays a central role in her art.  She loved her childhood and grew up in a “home full of color” in Zunyi, Guizhou Province where local culture and tradition are mixed. The women in her family would weave brightly-colored yarns, both physical and metaphorical.  As her mother and grandmother weaved, they would recount stories of her ancestors and legends about festivals they celebrate in her home province.  Linling melds these tales today and combines them with her personal experiences to create vibrant stories through her art. 
           
She is even inspired by her name.  “Linling” literally means “Kylin flying in the sky.”  In Chinese lore, a Kylin is an amalgamation of many magic animals.  The “ling” in her name that signifies the Kylin was derived from an ancestral poem passed down through the ages.  The middle name of each child in the family is determined from the poem, based on the generation.  Linling says that her next generation will have a phoenix-related middle name.  In her mythological artwork, Linling paints colorful images of fish and dragon scales, fish tails, and phoenixes. 

Linling is intrigued by that which is different and unique.  She enjoys learning about, and identifies with, the minority cultures in her home province, especially the Miao people.  Their dancing, music, and art all influence her and her work. Linling does calligraphy as a form of meditation, and finds that writing her thoughts in a journal helps her to paint. She advises aspiring artists to follow their heart, and hopes that her own artistic legacy will be the "joy and wisdom from colorful paintings."