Ivy Wu was born in Shanghai in 1981 and immigrated to the United States in 2013. She graduated from the Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) with a Master of Fine Arts (MFA) in Painting. She was awarded the SCAD Honors Scholarship for two consecutive years, as well as the Helen Seydel Memorial Scholarship (ACA). She also received the Spirit Award, the highest honor at the 39th SCAD Sidewalk Art Festival.

She is a professional painter and serves as an assistant professor in the College of Art at Kennesaw State University, where she teaches painting, color theory, and 2D art. She is a signatory member of the North American Women Artists (NAWA). Her work has been exhibited at the Hollis Taggart Gallery in Chelsea, New York; she has held a solo exhibition at Gallery 100 in Atlanta; and she has participated in a two-person exhibition at FreeMarket Gallery. In 2023, she was selected for the “AAPI Talents, Rise and Thrive” exhibition of outstanding Asian artists held at Coca-Cola Headquarters and for the 6th Biennial at the Museum of Contemporary Art, Georgia (MOCA GA). She currently lives and works in Atlanta, Georgia.