I don’t know about you, but I’ve always been fascinated by how we humans express our biggest beliefs. Since forever, we’ve been carving sacred symbols into stone or carefully shaping them from ceramics. It’s the ultimate way to take a big, abstract idea about spirituality or a god and turn it into something real and powerful.
That timeless tradition is exactly what two incredible artists, Chenlu Hou and Chiara No, are exploring right now. They both use clay as an enduring way to share powerful stories and connect with myth.
And we get to see their work together! Their duo exhibition, aptly titled What the Hands Remember to Hear, is opening next month at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum.
Meet the Artists
Chenlu Hou brings her vibrant Chinese heritage right into her art. Her colorful sculptures are a beautiful mix of folklore, personal memory, and the layered experiences of diaspora. It’s like watching cultural history get blended into a stunning, modern sculpture.
A fantastic example is her piece, “Tian Gou Shi Ri – The truth about solar eclipse and how to observe it using pinhole imaging principle.” It shows a giant female dog biting the sun, drawing on the Chinese legend of tiangou (“heavenly dog”), which is said to eat the sun during an eclipse. How cool is that connection to ancient myth and science?
Then there’s Chiara No. Her characterful sculptures pull from a huge range of history—ancient, pagan, and Christian mythologies are all in the mix. She’s particularly influenced by the terracotta figures from ancient Boeotia (that’s south-central Greece). But here’s the best part: she often forms her figures as bells, with their legs dangling like clappers. When activated, each one makes a completely distinctive sound, personifying these demons and goddesses!
Both Chenlu Hou and Chiara No manage to make their work feel playful — almost a little cartoonish—while still being incredibly meaningful. They also paint tiny, detailed scenes right onto the surfaces of their ceramics, adding extra layers to the stories.
If you love art that connects the ancient past with the contemporary present, this show exploring spirituality and myth at the Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum is definitely one to put on your calendar. I know I’ll be there!
