LUA KOBAYASHI

About
I am Lua Kobayashi, a California-based artist and UCLA graduate, receiving my B.A. in 2019. My work typically takes its form in photo, video, and installation - often combining all three. Through my practice, I am interested in the stories behind everyday objects, places and people, with which we all believe we are familiar; primarily utilizing my own experience within suburbia. Smiling neighbors, perfectly mowed lawns and endless rows of beautifully manicured homes - a seeming idyllic small town. However, growing up in a “perfect” suburb, showed me that this was anything but true. I never fit into my town, despite trying to dress, act and speak like those around me. I would never be included as I do not fit the regimented set of rules laid out by those who identify as “normal”; being a minority physically and inwardly. I was often left feeling like I was on the outskirts looking in; this led me to try to understand how everyone else lived their lives and how it was different from mine. What I found was the residents were hiding their true-selves, and within every home are lives made up of routines, relationships, gossip, crimes and more. This discovery fascinated me; we often dismiss or ignore the importance of the stories in front of us because they are a part of our everyday lives. I focus on these hidden tales - dissecting the histories and truths behind them and why they always seem to fall to the wayside of the mundane. I fabricate miniature scenes/sets based on these kinds of anthologies; utilizing memories, rumors, history, imagination and the visual aesthetics and languages of films/television. Stories of, or about individuals are important because as more come together they form a history of a place, object or even another person. Through my work, I hope to understand why we are all consistently drawn to, live in, and accept these stories and structures; ultimately, looking for what truly lies beneath the facade and what really happens within.
CV
Exhibitions
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One-Hundred, 2019, University of California, Los Angeles, CA
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7th International Open Call, 2019, Rhode Island Center For Photographic Arts, RI
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Juried Photography Exhibit, 2019, Monmouth Museum, New Jersey
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Prospectus, 2019, Palm Springs Art Museum, CA
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Waterloo Photography Invitational, 2021, Photocentric, OH
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ART IN THE TIME OF CORONA Vol 2. Dab Art Co., 2021, Los Angeles, CA
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30 Under 30, Viridian Artist Gallery, 2021, New York, NY
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All Media 2021, Irvine Fine Arts Center, 2021, Irvine, CA
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North x Northwest: Out of Isolation, Yellowstone Art Museum, 2021, Billings, MT
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Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Awards, 2021/2022, New York, NY
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All Media 2022, Irvine Fine Arts Center, 2022, Irvine, CA
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Chasing Ghosts VII, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, 2022, Online/Portland OR
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Telling Stories, Shoebox Art Gallery, 2022, Online/Los Angeles, CA
Solo Exhibition
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"Where a Forest Once Grew" Co-sponsored by the George and Sakaye Aratani CARE Award and UCLA Asian Studies Center, 2023 Westwood Village, Los Angeles, CA
Awards /Associations
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Jeanne Ward Ceramic Scholarship Award from the American Ceramic Society Southern California 2018 - 2019
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Artist Exhibition Council (ACE) Member 2019
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UCLA Aratani C.A.R.E. Grant, 2021-2022
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Honorable Mention, Passepartout International Photo Prize - Rome, Italy 2021
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Feature Shoot Emerging Photography Award - New York 2021
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Camera Obscura Artist In Resident - Santa Monica, California, May - Aug 2022
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Chateau Orquevaux - Orquevaux, France, March 2023
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(Upcoming) Aurora Photo Center Project Residency, Indianapolis, Indiana, 2023
Publications/Media:
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UCLA alumna's pop-up gallery is a meditation on family, memory and American history', UCLA Newsroom, February 2023
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'Lua Kobayashi Celebrates Family Legacy and History Through Art Exhibit in Westwood', Century City/Westwood News, January 2023
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'Standout pieces': Irvine Fine Arts Center hosts return of 'All Media' exhibit, LA Times: Daily Pilot, July 2022
Related Experience:
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Guest Artist, Oakwood High School Photography Class Workshop (January - April 2023), Los Angeles, CA
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Guest Artist, "Look Again" Teen Art Class (2021)- Los Angeles County Museum of Art
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Mentor & Guest Artist, Las Fotos Project (2021) - Los Angeles, CA