Reconfiguring both personal and collective fragmented memories, Heidi Lau’s vessels reimagine symbolic artifacts and zoomorphic ruins as materialization of the archaic and the invisible. In the process, she reenacts the non-linearity and materiality of the past, molding a tactile connection to the disappearing, impossible identity of home. Taoist mythology, folk superstitions, and Macau's colonial history provide essential source material for her exploration of transcendental homelessness, displacement, and nostalgia as the condition of contemporary existence.
Heidi Lau (b. 1987) grew up in Macau and currently lives and works in New York, New York. Lau's work has been exhibited in international institutions including the 58th International Art Exhibition of La Biennale di Venezia, Venice; the Museum of Arts and Design, New York; the Bronx Museum of the Art, New York; the Museum of Chinese in America, New York; BRIC, New York; and the Macau Museum of Art, among others.
Lau's practice has been supported by numerous residencies and awards, including the Emerging Artist Fellowship at Socrates Sculpture Park, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council Process Space, the Martin Wong Foundation Scholarship, and the Joan Mitchell Foundation Painters and Sculptor Grant.
In 2019, Lau presented Apparition for the Macau-China Collateral Exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale.
Born in Macau, China in 1987
Lives and works in New York
Education
2008 |
New York University, New York |
Solo Exhibitions
2022 |
Lyles & King, ‘Mouthed Echoes’, Richmond, New York, NY |
2021 |
Matthew Brown, ‘Liste Art Fair Basel’, Basel, Switzerland |
Grand Lisboa Palace, ‘Empire Recast’, Macao, China |
|
2020 | Matthew Brown, ‘Spirit Vessels’, Los Angeles, CA |
2019 | Macau-China Collateral Exhibition at the 58th Venice Biennale, ‘Apparition’, Venice, Italy |
AALA Gallery, ‘Blood Echoes’, Los Angeles, CA | |
2018 | Geary, ‘The Sentinels’, with Rachel Frank, New York, NY |
Solo Presentation at NADA New York with Geary, New York, NY | |
The Bronx Museum of the Arts, ‘The Primordial Molder’, Bronx, NY | |
2016 | Deli Gallery, ‘Third Rome’, New York, NY |
Real Art Ways, ‘Vestiges (from a Dream Pool)’, Hartford, CT | |
2015 | Deli Gallery, ‘Tea of Oblivion’, New York, NY |
Women’s Studies Research Center, Brandeis University, ‘Third Rome’, Waltham |
|
Guttenberg Arts, ‘Lithos Sarkophagus’, Guttenberg, NJ |
|
2014 | Macao Art Museum, ‘The Obscure Region II’, Macao, China |
2013 | Kent Place Gallery, ‘The Obscure Region’, Summit, NJ |
2012 | Newhouse Center for Contemporary Art, Snug Harbor Cultural Center Botanical Garden, ‘In the Garden’, Staten Island, NY |
-
Heidi LauPerfume Vessel, 2022Glazed ceramic
30.5 x 30.5 x 71.1 cm
12 x 12 x 28 in -
Heidi LauAlong the Grotto Court, 2020Ceramic43.2 x 25.4 x 16.5 cm
-
Heidi LauBanyan Tree Court, 2020Ceramic40.6 x 24.1 x 24.1 cm
-
Heidi LauDaughter, 2020Glazed and wood-fired ceramic26.7 x 109.2 x 61 cm
10 1/2 x 43 x 24 in -
Heidi LauDwellings, 2020Ceramic26.7 x 53.3 x 12.7 cm (top)
40.6 x 54.6 x 53.3 cm (bottom) -
Heidi LauMother, 2020Glazed and wood-fired ceramic33 x 142.2 x 83.8 cm
13 x 56 x 33 in -
Heidi LauOffering Vessel I, 2020Ceramic50.8 x 29.2 x 26.7 cm
-
Heidi LauOffering Vessel II, 2020Ceramic43.2 x 35.6 x 33 cm
-
Heidi LauOffering Vessel III, 2020Ceramic33 x 30.5 x 12.7 cm (top)
27.9 x 33 x 17.8 cm (bottom) -
Heidi LauSitting Figures, 2020Ceramic76.2 x 43.2 x 43.2 cm (top)
30.5 x 33 x 38.1 cm (bottom) -
Heidi LauUp and Up The Crane Tower, 2020Ceramic71.1 x 26.7 x 27.9 cm
-
Heidi LauWatch Tower, 2020Ceramic58.4 x 17.8 x 27.9 cm