A native of China, Wu received his degree in sculpture from the Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, and became staff sculptor for the city of Chengdu on the Chengdu Public Arts Commission.^[2]^[3] He worked primarily in public art and in the "socialist realist" genre.^[4] A large number of his public art works can be seen in Chengdu.^[2] He participated in the Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, and was caught in the square when the Chinese military attacked the demonstrators.^[5] He emigrated to the United States later that same year, and in time became a U.S. citizen.^[3] He worked in construction and as a dishwasher before enrolling in the University of Washington School of Art.^[4] He graduated with a Master of Fine Arts degree.^[3]^[6] For his master's thesis, he designed a memorial to 19th-century Chinese railroad workers which was later installed in a park in Tacoma, Washington.^[3]

As of 2007, he divided his time between his home in Everett, Washington, and China.^[7]

Wu is best known for sculpting the Seattle Fallen Fire Fighters Memorial in Seattle's Pioneer Square.^[8] A design competition was held among all interested students in the UW School of Arts, and Wu's design was chosen.^[3] He has erected similar memorials throughout the Pacific Northwest. He also created the Auto-Lite Strike Memorial in Toledo, which commemorates the violent United Auto Workers strike of 1934.^[9] His work for Compass Health in Everett, Washington, was his first sculpture to focus on children.^[10]

Public works

References