Trang Huynh
Thương is a powerful word in Vietnamese. Thương means unconditional love, a love that exceeds one’s personal selfishness. When you add the adverb “bị” in, bị thương means being hurt. My work explores the contradictory meanings of this word, illustrating the intertwined relationship between love, pain and forgiveness. Drawing from historical references and personal experiences of growing up in a Vietnamese Post-War generation with family members on opposite sides, my work dives into this and serves as a catalyst for healing. My 2-dimensional mixed-media paintings portray people with colorful traditional clothing in intimate settings. Colorful linoleum prints of traditional Vietnamese patterns invite a warm welcoming feeling while the highly contrasting color palette represents intense emotions. Rarely meeting the viewers’ gaze, the figures are bound up in moments, interacting with one another amongst a densely layered composition. Through this body of work, I examine my own yearning for love and its relationship to forgiveness.
About the artist:
Trang Huynh was born in 2002 in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam and currently lives and works in the United States. She is a senior General Fine Arts student at Maryland Institute College of Art (MICA), specializing in oil painting and printmaking. Historical, political and personal references of growing up as a Vietnamese Post-War generation acts as a catalyst for Trang Huynh to use art as a healing tool. She portrays people with colorful traditional clothes in intimate settings to explore the intertwined relationship between love, pain and forgiveness. She received several awards, such as the Creative Vision Award, Dean’s Grant, etc. In 2019, Huynh had a solo exhibition titled “War and Conflict” in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam. She has also participated in various group exhibitions including “FYE 2022 Student Exhibit” at Leidy Atrium, Baltimore, MD and “Jeans On, Jeans Off” at Lazarus Center, Baltimore, MD.
Một Tối Thứ Sáu (A Friday Night)
Oil, water-based linoleum print, laser-cut panel, collage on hardboard,
36”x24.”
2023