ARTIST STATEMENT
Play is at the heart of my practice. It’s not just a style but the mental space where I let myself wander, improvise, and build a world of my own. Sculpture still feels a lot like how I played as a child, turning whatever was nearby into something else entirely. A tape dispenser became a snail, an eraser a block of butter. That early instinct to reimagine the ordinary continues to guide me. My studio now is a kind of playground and a small alchemy lab where familiar forms shift into new possibilities.
I draw from everyday references such as food, body parts, bits of architecture, and experiment with context, scale, and material to create a visual language that resists neat categories. The work slips between the recognizable and the uncanny, inviting viewers to find their own way through it. My practice spans many materials and blends hands-on making with digital processes. Although I have no hierarchy of processes, digital fabrication holds a special place in my heart. Moving between virtual and physical space lets me create objects that feel both precise and slightly off, hovering in that subtle, playful zone where reality and imitation gently blur.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
Ling-lin Ku is a Taiwan born, U.S. based multimedia sculptor, her studio is a playground and alchemy of the world where she plays in between tangible materials and digital fabrication. Her artistic approach is a remarkable fusion of traditional techniques and innovative technologies. She has exhibited her work nationally and internationally, including solo shows in CUE Art Foundation in New York, 18th Street Art Center in Los Angeles, Baltimore Jewelry Center in Baltimore, Summer Academy in Salzburg, Austria, Atelier 11 in Paris, France, and CICA Museum in South Korea. Ling-lin received her MFA from University of Texas at Austin in 2019 and BFA from Virginia Commonwealth University in 2016. She is currently an assistant professor in Oberlin College.
© Ling-lin Ku