Transcendent traces the evolution of Jia Lu's early work from 1995 to 2001. An updated edition of the artist's first monograph, it offers a collection of her finest studies in the expression of the human body. Her portraits present an arresting dialectic through her visual blend of metaphysical wonder and sense of fragile mortality, and attempt to reconcile the past with the present -- to balance divergent cultures and beliefs. In Transcendent, Jia Lu integrates Buddhist themes into her work, illustrating a greater sense of spiritual awareness in her subjects. Her style melds traditional Eastern and Western schools of realist painting, offering images that seem to belong to another time and place altogether. Most importantly, each image acts as part of a means of communication and connection between artist and audience.