CHENLU HOU
Memory Objects

March 19 - April 20

Kristen Lorello is thrilled to present a solo exhibition of hand-built ceramic sculptures in terracotta by Chenlu Hou.  This is the artist's first solo exhibition in New York City.  It follows from her two-artist presentation of smaller porcelain sculptures at the gallery in December 2023. 

Hou's imaginative sculptures are inspired by traditional Chinese folklore, monuments, ceremonial objects, and events in the artist's daily life.  She blends together her own personal memories and interpretations of traditional storytelling into a unique artistic language that includes sharp decorative elements, and the suggestion of narrative, guided by the relationships between the human, animal, and plant elements present within each work.  The titles of her sculptures cue the viewer to interpret individual visual components of her sculptures through the lens of a story.  In 'A long-haired figure diving into the water to grasp the reflection of the moon,' the form of an inverted human body surrounded by clouds and rain reaches with two hands towards a bright yellow disc hovering among a shimmering pink and blue pool of water.  Another sculpture draws upon the artist's hobby of spotting window cats during walks she takes through her neighborhood.  It includes a large tiger-like cat at its base and expressive faces of people having different reactions to finding the cats.  A small basket with a painted human face hangs from the sculpture, in a nod to a traditional ceremonial food offering, which in this case could be a tasty treat for a domestic feline.  The sculpture includes airbrushed and hand drawn elements.  Ornamental charms hang from the main form of the sculpture by store-bought outdoor zip ties in different colors, which the artist enjoys for their color, texture, ‘made in China’ reference.

Each sculpture is made from terracotta clay that Hou blends at the studio from scratch.  She begins with a traditional slab-building technique, joining shapes cut from rolled portions of clay, and forming individual elements that she then assembles by hand.  Incisions into the surface of the sculptures complement hand drawn elements.  She underglazes the surface of the works with colors applied with different sized airbrushes and fires the sculptures multiple times.  Patterns of clay added onto the surface create rhythmic relief elements, echoing the colorful zip ties’ linked and woven effect.

Chenlu Hou was born in Shandong, China, in 1989 and lives and works in Providence, RI.  She received an M.A. in Decorative Art Design from Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, China in 2016 and an MFA in Ceramic Art from the Rhode Island School of Design in 2019.  Her works have been included in exhibitions at Kristen Lorello, Yiri Arts, Taipei, Taiwan, the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX, and the Archie Bray Foundation for the Ceramic Arts, Helena, Montana, among other venues.  She has completed residencies at Penland School of Craft, Bakesville, North Carolina, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX, and the Archie Bray Foundation, Helena, Montana, among others.  She is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Connecticut College, New London, CT, and a Visiting Critic at the Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI.