VASCAM EXHIBITION 2016

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July 23-24, 2016 - 4 PM 

San Jose, CA

VASCAM's first Art Exhbition in San Jose, Nature and Us, honors internationally-renowed artists, Ann Phong and Trinh Mai, in a lavish evening of visual art, music and enjoyment. Come for an opportunity to view original art works by Ann Phong and Trinh Mai. There will also be music by Tôn Thất Tiết and art songs by P.Q. Phan performed by pianist Nguyễn Hải Hoàng, opera singer Teresa Mai, and violinist Drew Cranfill. 

TRINH MAI is an interdisciplinary, California-based artist whose work is driven by innovative narratives of storytelling, re-imagine personal memories, family roots, and spiritual connections. Since receiving her B.F.A. in Pictorial Art from San Jose State University and furthering her studies at UCLA, Trinh has exhibited nationally, showing in public and private collections internationally, and has exhibited with well-respected institutions such as the Smithsonian Asian Pacific American Center and the Naples Museum of Art. She has served as Project Director for the Vietnamese American Arts & Letters Association (VAALA), Master Teaching Artist for the Bowers Museum, and Course Developer for the Pacific Symphony.

Currently, Trinh is a member of the Advisory Board for The Artist Odyssey (TAO), and the Visual Art Program within the Diasporic Vietnamese Artist Network. She currently holds a dual Artist-in-Residentship with the University of California Irvine’s Vietnamese American Oral History Project and for Cal State Fullerton's Grand Central Art Center. Trinh has been invited to Stanford University to speak about her work, and her paintings and poetry have been published by Purdue University's Journal of Southeast Asian American Education & Advancement. Her work has been documented by TAO in the film called “Honoring Life: The Work of Trinh Mai”, which received the Audience Choice Award for Best Short Film at the 2016 Viet Film Festival.  

Artist Statement

Drawn from intimate experiences of heartache and triumph, of struggle and perseverance, and of loss and fulfillment, my work excavates my roots through abstract and literal representations. As a second generation Vietnamese American, my art practice allows me a chance to seek connection to my predecessors, so that I can interpret these stories through my own ears, eyes and hands.

Professional Contact Information

Trinhmai.com  ǀ  trinhmaistudios@gmail.com

ANN PHONG received her MFA in painting from California State University, Fullerton in 1995, and has actively participated in more than 100 solo and group shows in galleries and museums. Her work has been exhibited in Los Angeles, to Houston, Vancouver, Bangkok, Karbi, Seoul, Chengdu and Taichung. 

Ann currently teaches art at California State University Pomona. Ann also serves as the board president of VAALA (Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association), a nonprofit organization to promote Vietnamese American artists who live outside Vietnam.  

Ann has been invited to speak at many high schools, colleges, universities, galleries and museums on the subject of her own work and the work of other Vietnamese American artists.

Artist Statement

Ocean water captivates me. 

In the water, I see my past. A long journey from one seashore in Vietnam to another in California.

Through the fluid brushstrokes, I use art to reflect the feelings and thoughts of the people who have experienced up-and-down living situation in life, those who have to separate themselves from their family to go afar to look for a better future, and those who have struggled to assimilate into a new society. 

The formal elements of my work are all equally important. I use thick and thin layers of pigments, ambiguous and conflicting spatial arrangements to express the complexity of human life. Energetic marks making and soft lines juxtapose each other to enhance an overall dynamic outlook. 

When my work aligns with my feelings, the piece is done.

Professional Contact Information

www.annphongart.com  ǀ  annphong@cpp.edu