(Lu, Jia. Halo. c. 1996. oil on canvas.)
Jia Lu grew up in a family of artists. Acting, poetry, and art classes filled her early years and fired her restless imagination. However, the Great Cultural Revolution swept down upon Beijing with destructive violence and many of her family members and art teachers were targeted for persecution.
(Lu, Jia. Woman Warrior. c. 1998. oil on canvas.)
Jia Lu was forced to adapt to the radically changing conditions in order to survive. She turned her hand to many different pursuits, including working as a nurse where she gained invaluable firsthand knowledge of the human anatomy. She then enrolled in the Central Academy of Art and Design.
(Lu, Jia. Purity. c. 2001. oil on canvas.)
By 1983, Jia Lu was already an accomplished figure painter. She moved to Canada without a word of English. She used her intelligence and adaptability to find friends and collectors, learn the language and continue her education. She soon found work in the visual arts department at York University.
(Lu, Jia. Heaven's Song. c. 1998. oil on canvas.)
Her realistic painting style made her an outsider at this bastion of contemporary art, but she never abandoned her dream-like imagery and polished style. When a rare opportunity arose to travel to Japan to work on a huge project in Tokyo reproducing ancient Buddhist cave murals, Jia seized this chance to explore her cultural roots.
(Lu, Jia. Gingko. c. 2004. oil on canvas.)
In the summer of 1995, she and her future husband Geoffrey spent two months in the museums of Paris and London, immersed in the great works of sculpture, architecture, and painting. She returned home to Canada deeply inspired, determined to capture the magnificence and universality of the human figure.
(Lu, Jia. Mountain Spirit. c. 1998. oil on canvas.)
Jia Lu currently lives in Los Angeles. She delights in beauty wherever she finds it. Her sense of confidence and hope is contagious, both in her personality and in her art.
(Lu, Jia. Mandala. c. 1999. oil on canvas.)
Sharing her love of the beautiful, Jia sends her paintings out into the world to remind us that there is, in essence, no separation between the human and the divine, and her work is much appreciated here!
Enjoy! :)
References: Jialu.com, ArtifactsGallery.com, jialu.deviantart.com & Visions Fine Art Gallery