Young man standing outdoors during sunset, holding a camera and looking at it, wearing a black shirt, dark gray jacket, khaki pants, and a backpack.

Artist Statement

Brandon Lu (Blu) is a Chinese-American photographer based in Brooklyn, New York. His work explores presence, memory, and belonging through portraits, street photography, and conceptual visual art.

From the streets of Shanghai, where he documented the city’s shifting rhythms and landscapes, to the neighborhoods of New York City, his images reflect on how identity is shaped in the spaces we inhabit and inherit.

Recent projects include Traces of Memory, a photo book chronicling three journeys to China and Between Shore and Sky, a Chinese printing & cyanotype study on self-portraiture. An upcoming portrait and documentary project seeks to reimagine Asian American masculinity through tenderness and strength.

His images seek to preserve the fleeting—a gesture, a glance, a pause—as fragments of tenderness and nostalgia, small proofs of our belonging.

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A flock of birds flying in a V formation across a partly cloudy sky during dusk or dawn.
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Evening sky with dark clouds, a visible crescent moon, and the setting sun casting orange and pink hues on the clouds, with a silhouette of trees at the bottom.
A child and an adult by a lake, with a leaning tree in the water and mountains in the background, during sunset.
A vintage red BMW parked on a street next to a large pink flowering bush, with a wooden fence and house in the background.
Empty beach with a couple sitting on the sand, an airplane flying in a cloudy sky, and distant city lights in the background.
Person standing on a surfboard in shallow water at the beach, reflected in the wet sand, with clouds in the sky.
View of trees with an airplane flying in the sky above in a park or natural setting during daytime.
Person sitting on the edge of a building during dusk or dawn with a clear sky in the background.
A single cyclist riding up a winding mountain road with a city view in the distance.
A small snack shop with shelves filled with various packaged snacks, candies, and chips; three people are inside, with one person reaching for a product.
Person holding a round mirror reflecting a sky with pink and blue clouds, cityscape in the background during evening.
City skyline viewed through the lens of a fork, featuring buildings and a pagoda-style structure at sunset.
A woman dressed in black sits on a park bench at night in front of a reflective glass wall at a bus stop, hugging her knees with her head resting on her arm. Neon lights illuminate the area, and posters with smiling faces are visible on the side of t
A grassy park with autumn trees, some with leaves turning brown, under a clear blue sky. There is a large tree in the center and modern sculpture on a small hill to the right.
A woman with curly hair stands against a vibrant orange and yellow brick wall, dressed in a red plaid dress, animal print high heels, and wearing a chunky gold choker necklace.
City street at sunset with colorful sky and reflected clouds on a shiny surface
Kids climbing on a red and yellow amusement park ride with a clear blue sky in the background.
A woman with dark hair lies on a bed with a white sheet, looking at the camera through a mirror with a wooden frame. The photo has a warm, reddish lighting.
A rugged mountain landscape with reddish-brown terrain and deep shadows cast by the setting sun.
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A person walking alone across sand dunes in a desert landscape with sparse vegetation, in black and white.

CV

Education:

B.S. in Economics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, 2019.

Professional Experience:

2025 – Present – Owner & Photographer, BLU Studio, Brooklyn, NY

2021 – Present – Staff Photographer, Unclear Magazine, Brooklyn, NY

2016 – 2024 – Freelance Photographer, San Francisco, CA

2024 – 2025 – Senior Product Manager, Faire, New York, NY

2022 – 2024 – Senior Product Manager, Cash App, San Francisco, CA

2021 – 2022 – Product Manager, Afterpay, San Francisco, CA

2019 – 2021 – Associate Product Manager, Visa, San Francisco, CA

2018 – 2019 – Artistic Director, Penn Hype Dance Crew, Philadelphia, PA

2017 – 2018 – Public Relations Director, Penn Hype Dance Crew, Philadelphia, PA

2016 – 2017 – Vice President - Internal, Pan-Asian Dance Troupe, Philadelphia, PA

Featured Exhibitions:

ACENTRICSPACE, Zhujiajiao, China. April 2025. 2025 April Group Exhibition.

Greenpoint Gallery, New York City, USA. March 2025. 2025 Spring Equinox Show.

Featured Press:

Business Insider. April 2022. “Inside a San Francisco coliving house where 8 Gen Zers build Web3 startups by day — and party at night.”

Venture Beat, July 2022. “Hologram raises $6.5M for blockchain-based avatars that you can use in video calls.”

Unclear Magazine, April 2024. “Issue 95.”

Featured Projects:

“A Chinatown Love Story.” January 2025. (Directed and photographed by Brandon Lu). Link

“VOL.11–In Pursuit of Wholeheartedness.” August 2021. bluprint. Link.

“VOL.10–Pouring Hearts.” March 2021. bluprint. Link.

“VOL.04–Listening & Learnings.” June 2020. bluprint. Link.

“Matter.” May 2019 (Directed and choreographed by Brandon Lu. Original poetry written by Karen Yang. Directed in collaboration with Karen Yang). Link.

“Love You Lately.” May 2018. (Directed by Brandon Lu and choreographed in collaboration with Jennifer Li). Link.