Los Angeles based painter Polly Chu earned her MFA from Claremont Graduate University and also studied linguistics at California State University, Long Beach.

Polly’s work in the studio is shaped by and reflects her buddhist practice. Recent work includes her “field series” of egg tempera paintings on found wood; continuous-line net drawings; stitched paper rakusus based on the miniature monk’s robes that practitioners of Soto Zen buddhism sew and wear when taking lay (non-monastic) precepts; stitched "measuring tapes"; and other stitched paper pieces utilizing grids, text, and Islamic geometric patterns. Her interest in the rich tradition of Islamic geometric design has precipitated deeper connection and curiosity about her Chinese Muslim heritage.

Polly’s collaborative work includes a book and art project on the intersection of family, history, race, and colonialism, called "Handmade Histories", with artist and writer Sarah Lejeune. Excerpts of the book were published in an anthology edited by Betty Ann Brown (Expanding Circles. Midmarch Arts Press, 1996)