Cathleen Luo

Artist Statement

As a ceramic sculptor, I reimagine modern spirituality through communal encounters facilitated by my prayer figures. My practice centers on clay as a medium of touch and memory, building spaces of healing that invite participation by gathering at dinner tables, altars, and protected spaces grounded by my sculptures.

As an Asian-American artist, I sculpt deities and guardians that embody humility, joy, greed, and other human states. These figures act as conduits between the spiritual and the social, facilitating reflection, connection, and communion. I see these spaces as modern shrines for diasporic identity: places where ghosts, ancestors, and communities meet to celebrate Otherness.

Pieces like Altar 1 and Guardian Lions Heaven and Hell draw from altar and guardian lion traditions, reinterpreting them within a diasporic context. Once meant to protect homes and honor ancestors, these forms now speak to the contemporary need for protection, guidance, and belonging across displacement.

Clay allows me, as a visually impaired artist to center my work with what my hands feel. My sculptures are meant to be experienced through touch, extending the invitation for others to engage beyond sight. Hosting touch tours and communal meals around my work transforms each piece into a living altar—an offering toward radical connection and collective healing.