My artworks reflect the relationship of who we are as humans, and the responsibilities we should have to this earth we live on. It is painful to witness the destruction of nature caused by human greed and ignorance. It seems like the more convenient we make our lives, the more pollution we create, and the more carelessly we deplete the earth’s resources. Besides the environmental issues, the year 2020 has changed the way I think about life, just as I believe it has also changed the lives of many other people. We were forced to live in isolation away from other human beings during the pandemic, while many animals could move around freely on earth. Instead of giving in to the depression, we dreamed of a cleaner future after COVID. My paintings attract viewers through a variety of surface qualities: the vibrant hues, the thick and thin layers of paint applications, the added-on objects, the bold lines contrasting with soft brushstrokes. If viewers take time to explore my works, deeper images and messages can be unmasked. Through expressive abstraction, I focus on transforming my artworks into an invitation to inspire the viewers to pause, think, and recalibrate how we co-exist on this earth.
I Told You, The Earth Is Warming Up, 2024
29 x 29 in
Acrylic with Objects
What and who has inspired and enabled you to become an artist?
I learned to draw before I entered my elementary school. During my childhood, my mom always praised that my older sister was so much smarter than me. I felt that I was nothing in my family's eye. Here with Arts, I could create something out of a blank paper. Something that my older sister never could draw/do. Since then, I got my confidence and felt worthy to live on. I've been keeping that feeling till today.
If We Don’t Care For Nature, 2024
20 x 30 in
Acrylic with Objects
Describe your art practice and how your journey in the art world has evolved over time?
I escaped the Vietnamese Communist by boat in 1981 and resided in the USA. Working part time and studying full time, it took me a long time to become an artist. I express my life appreciation through my art. In my creating process, I like to look back to who I am on this earth. I often come up with ideas and composition for my new paintings during the days I drive through long traffic to go to work. Sitting in my studio, I recall those ideas then express them onto my canvases.
Looking Back, Looking Forward, 2024
34 x 40 in
Ink Drawing and Acrylic Painting
How do you connect to Southern California and what do you love about living in the Los Angeles region?
I love living in Southern California, where I receive opportunity to present my artworks that bases on my talent, not my origin. LA is a city that contains super rich and very poor people. I can enjoy beautiful neighborhoods and witness trashy streets that are not too far from each others. These become the real life concept I express in my art.
How would being recognized by the Lakers In the Paint program help your art career in a distinct way?
My artworks focus on the environmental issues (who we are on earth). I believe that the Lakers In the Paint Program will ease me financially, and help me to connect my earthy messages to public a lot faster and further out to different audience.