L. Song Wu is a figurative painter from South Florida who lives and works in Stanford, California. Wu’s confrontational paintings aim to alienate viewers and force them to reckon with their spectatorship towards the displayed figures. Her artworks have been exhibited in New York, San Francisco, and Berlin.

“In my paintings, fantasy and spectacle reign supreme. My paintings depict women who exist in a state of otherness, imbued with a sense of mystery and allure that alienates viewers. No one is immune to their scrutiny.”

By blurring the lines between reality and fantasy, L. Song aims to provoke a sense of discomfort and challenge the viewer's construction of the female body. Using hyper-saturated skin tones, the women in her paintings are rendered with varying hues that either separate or ground them to the setting. Their environments, like them, are imagined. The spaces are based on what she perceives European villas, the American frontier, and abandoned city streets to look like. L. Song’s work invites contemplation and reflection on the complexities of gender, identity, and the notion of the "alien" or "other" in our society. 

“Now, I like to let images come to me. I let them sit inside of me for a while before I materialize it. I used to get frustrated when I could not figure out why I was painting something, but now I realize that is better because the work continues to converse with me.”

L. Song just finished the 2nd annual Stanford-wide pop-up art show at SOMArts and has a few solo shows lined up, one will be in San Francisco, so definitely stay tuned to her Instagram for details! She will graduate with her double major in Art Practice and Mechanical Engineering in 2024.

For the month of May, Jun Yang curated “We The Artists,” which featured Bay Area-based AAPI artists. Stay tuned for future spotlights on Bay Area-based AAPI artists. 

Feature Published: May 13, 2023
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