Portraits of Drew
This gallery is dedicated to Matthew Lau’s younger brother, Andrew “Drew” Lau, who struggled with addiction and passed away in his sleep on October 26, 2004, at the age of forty-four. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Drew was a respected interior designer and head of his own firm, Andrew Lau Interior Design. His clients included prominent figures across politics, media, and the arts, and his work appeared in numerous trade publications, including Architectural Digest. Drew’s life—and his loss—profoundly shaped Matthew and his family.
The works gathered here were created in Drew’s memory. Some portray him directly, while others reflect the quiet emotional landscape of grief and remembrance. Moving between portraiture, landscape, and textile work, these pieces show how Matthew returned to art as a way of processing and honoring his brother’s passing—transforming memory, sorrow, and love into acts of artistic creation.
Pastel and oil on canvas
18 × 14
Collection of Lau Studio Alumni
Portrait in Yellow
Portrait of Drew; Study after Tamara de Lempicka, Portrait du marquis d'Afflito
Oil on canvas
19½ x 39½
Collection of Katie Lau, MI
Mixed media quilt
42 x 22
Collection of Lau Studio Alumni
Portrait of Drew
Matthew and David Lau collaborated on an unpublished manuscript titled Drew, the Bottle, and Me, chronicling their family’s experience supporting their youngest brother Andrew through his struggles with addiction.
Elements within this quilt appear to reference that journey: a bottle above Drew’s right eye, cigarettes across his left cheek, and a pill bottle along the right edge. These symbolic details suggest the complex presence addiction held in Drew’s life and in the lives of those who loved him.
A passage from Drew, the Bottle, and Me that we believe directly inspired this piece is available to read here.
Title patch stitched on back of quilt.
Oil on canvas
20 × 24
Collection of Mary-Lynn Lau, CA
Plein Air X
Matthew’s landscape and the portrait of Drew, when seen side by side, share a strikingly similar palette of reds, oranges, and yellows—colors that evoke the glow and volatility of fire. This visual connection resonates with Matthew’s own metaphorical description of Drew in Drew, the Bottle, and Me, where images of flames, smoke, and fire engines dominate the memory that ultimately formed Drew’s “portrait.” In that passage, Matthew reflects that somewhere “between the images of flames and smoke, and fire trucks… I knew just exactly what Drew’s portrait looked like,” suggesting a life defined by intensity, danger, and consuming energy.
Seen together, these two pieces echo that fiery imagery: the blazing sky of the landscape and the incandescent tones within Drew’s face both carry the heat and instability of flame. The shared color language subtly reinforces Matthew’s metaphor, portraying Drew as a figure illuminated—and threatened—by the same burning intensity.