Anne Chu facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Anne Chu
Anne Chu in 2007
Born	1959 (1959) New York, New York
Died	July 25, 2016(2016-07-25) (aged 56–57) New York, New York
Nationality	American
Education	Philadelphia College of Art, Columbia University
Known for	Sculpture

Anne Chu was an American artist born in New York City in 1959. Her parents came from China. Her father was a math professor at Columbia University. When Anne was in middle school, her family moved to Westchester County, just north of the city.

Anne Chu studied art at the Philadelphia College of Art (now the University of the Arts), graduating in 1982. She then earned her master's degree from Columbia University in 1985.

Her artworks often mixed ideas from both Eastern and Western cultures. This created a cool contrast between old and new, abstract and real, and even unknown and fantastical elements. Anne Chu used many different art techniques. She was mostly known as a sculptor, making huge pieces from wood, ceramic, and papier-mâché. But she also created beautiful watercolors and prints. In these, she often painted landscapes, castles, and knights. These themes might seem abstract, but they connected to the real-world figures in her sculptures.

Anne Chu won several important awards, including the Penny McCall award in 2001. She also received grants from the Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation and the Joan Mitchell Foundation. Her art was shown in many famous places. These included the Dallas Art Museum, the Berkeley Art Museum, and the Indianapolis Museum of Art.

Anne Chu's Artistic Style

Even though Anne Chu was Chinese American, she didn't focus only on Chinese culture in her art. Her sculptures showed that she knew a lot about art from all over the world. Much of her knowledge came from Western art. She spent many years visiting art galleries and museums.

Chu's deep understanding of art history shaped her unique artistic vision. Her works combined modern feelings with ideas from the past. This gave her art a fresh, current feel while still connecting to history.

Heidi Zuckerman Jacobson, an art curator, explained Anne Chu's approach. She said Chu explored new ideas in sculpture and painting. She did this by using materials in surprising ways. For example, she would add painting to sculptures. By changing what we expect from sculpture, she made us look at familiar things in a new light.

Anne Chu often used traditional Chinese objects as a starting point for her work. She recreated ancient T'ang dynasty ceramic burial figures. She also sculpted landscapes inspired by both Asian and Western styles. Her watercolors were bright and showed a subtle mix of abstract shapes and real figures.

Chu's art included many bold sculptures made from different materials. These included wood, metal, resin, fabric, leather, or porcelain. She also made delicate watercolors and ink drawings on paper. She often combined figures and animals with ideas from old stories and folklore. Sometimes, her work looked completely different from one piece to the next. By constantly reinventing her style, Anne Chu created her own special artistic language. Her unique art was celebrated in over 30 solo exhibitions during her 25-year career.

Famous Artworks

Ballplayer on Horse (1998)

In Anne Chu's sculpture Ballplayer on Horse, you see a detailed carved and painted man sitting on a bronze horse. In ancient China, bronze horses with riders were often made in large numbers. They were buried with important people to show their wealth and status. Chu was interested in these old burial figures.

She liked to use different materials to create unique looks. In this sculpture, the bronze horse and the wooden figure share a similar painted style. The ballplayer's head is tilted, and one hand is on his chest. The other hand is raised as if he's about to throw something. These poses suggest that horses and riders were important symbols. They showed a person's power and were even needed for political survival in ancient China.

Small Landscape (1999)

Chu also created beautiful watercolors. In these, subjects like figures and landscapes were shown in a soft, flowing way. If you saw Chu's Small Landscape without its title, you might think it was just abstract art. It's painted loosely with bright colors at the bottom of its long, lively shapes.

Knowing Chu's unique color choices, like yellow with lavender or red with olive green, helps us understand it. These colors might show a waterfall flowing through a rough mountain. Or maybe the sun burning through a foggy morning.

Guardian and House (1999)

Anne Chu also made a change from full figures to just the head and shoulders (called a portrait bust). Here, she again focused on what makes a person unique: their face. She gave these T'ang figures their own special look. The people in these new busts were copies of Chu's earlier burial figures. And those were copies of the original T'ang figures.

Like old Chinese artists, Chu often made the same figures many times. While her images reminded people of famous old statues, they also felt separate and new. This made them even more powerful because of her small changes or personal touches.

Chu made sculptures in many different sizes. But she was especially interested in making human figures seem out of proportion. She used this to make people think differently about her art. In Guardian and House, a tall Han-style tower made of bright orange material hangs from the ceiling. A cast-iron guardian figure also hangs nearby. Chu made the guardian and the tower about the same size, which is not realistic. The guardian's grimace might be meant to scare away bad spirits. The rough surface of the guardian's body also contrasts with the smooth tower. This creates a surprising and interesting relationship between the two objects.

Bestial, Tracollo, and Charming Girl (2003)

These artworks look like puppets. Ropes connect their arms and heads to a frame high on the ceiling. They are frozen in poses, like all artworks, waiting for attention. Their silent performance began when Chu finished sewing, sawing, and putting them together in her studio. Now, they tell the story of how they were made.

Their wire frames are cleverly covered to form bodies. Their heads and hands are roughly carved from wood. Bestial is a scary-looking she-devil, but she's funny with her cartoon bear paws. Tracollo wears pajamas, and his face is wrapped in bandages, as if carving him hurt him. Charming Girl holds her own small puppet on a stick. But her hand is a fused blob, so she can't really control it.

These characters seem to have no control over themselves. Their eyes are sometimes closed, or only partly formed, or just empty holes. Their hands can't make a fist, so they can't grab anything. You can even see their wires, seams, and wood splinters. This shows they are stuck in a world of objects. They seem to be controlled by forces they don't understand.

Chu's sculptures are like secret abstract art made from materials. The way she uses wood, wire, and cloth seems simple, but it's very clever. On the other hand, these sculptures are also like self-portraits. They show how artists can feel controlled by society and their own performances.

Chu's "big toys" are very sophisticated. They mix ideas from China and Europe. They combine careful art with practical making, like cutting and stitching. Her work invites us to imagine lively conversations between Chu and the art in museums. Her art is friendly, playful, and full of warmth. Chu's strong artworks are not just copies of other art. They are unique creations that show both possibilities.

Single Bear (Polyester) (2008)

This artwork shows how Anne Chu liked to blur the line between a useful object and a piece of art. Between the bear's head and shoulders, there's a faint line. It looks like a seam, like on a mask or a costume headpiece.

The bear has its own unique features, like a waxy, blue, winking face. But its personality changes depending on who tries it on or imagines filling it with their presence. So, this artwork, which is an object, becomes much more. It suggests that lifeless things can come alive when humans interact with them.

Hanging Goat (2008)

This artwork shows a goat hanging loosely from the ceiling. It looks like a puppet without a play. Its strange, taken-apart shape also reminds some people of a butchered animal. But the messy way it looks frees viewers from this dark idea. It's a simple creature, a humble offering. But at the same time, it's a quiet challenge, whether you like it or not.

Other Exhibitions

Awards

• 1997 The Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation fellowship
• 2010 Guggenheim Fellowship
• 1999 Joan Mitchell Foundation award
• Anonymous Was a Woman Foundation winner