Lu Bin’s work is new to me, but I was immediately drawn in by his references to fossils and historical relics.  Above, Fossil6 from 2001 and Great Dharani13 from 2012, demonstrate the progression of his work from “stone” fossils to crumbling clay documents.

The fossil stones tied up in string are fascinating to me.  Making a special package of something old, marking it, and bringing it current importance and relevance, in a way reversing the fossilization process, is a simple but profound contextual gymnastic.

His work ranges broadly and is quite varied in technique and appearance, but always connects to historical environmental and cultural references.  Lu Bin was born in 1961 and has exhibited widely in Asia and Europe.