Thương Hoài Trần: Cho Gia Đình: For Family
@ NEIU Fine Art Center Gallery
5500 N St Louis Ave Building E, Chicago, IL
Opening Thursday, June 13th, from 6PM - 9PM
On view through Wednesday, July 3rd
Cho Gia Đình: For Family is an exhibition by Thương Hoài Trần that utilizes personal photographic archives to explore the narratives of being a Vietnamese American immigrant. The phrase “cho gia đình” directly translates to “for family” in Vietnamese. This exhibition is in honor of the artist’s family while offering a glance into the intimate details of their lives, culture, and experiences in the United States. Celebrating and attempting to recover unspoken histories of family lineage, while speaking to the hardships of displacement and cultural disconnect of growing up in a country they were unfamiliar with.
Artist Bio:
Thương Hoài Trần was born in Tây Ninh, Vietnam and raised in Emporia, Kansas. Being a Vietnamese immigrant, this part of their identity informs and influences their interdisciplinary art practice. They hold a BFA in Painting and Printmaking from Emporia State University in Emporia, Kansas, and an MFA from the School of Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago, IL.
Creating has become a method of self-discovery, learning, and healing. Most of their artwork features a level of distortion or fragmentation. In their recent works, they have been examining the process of weaving, disassembling clothes made in Vietnam, and recreating family photographs to learn more about their origin. This process becomes an approach of connecting to her heritage, paying homage, and filling in the gaps created through various barriers such as language, displacement, generational disconnect, and cultural complexities.
Hoài Trần was selected as a fellowship recipient for the Residency Program at MASS MoCA in 2023. Their work has been exhibited at The Westmoreland Museum of American Art (Greensburg, PA), Janet Turner Print Museum (Chico, CA), Center for Craft (Asheville, NC), and SOMArts (San Francisco, CA) to name a few.
Official Website
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Tags: Albany Park, Chicago, NEIU Fine Art Center Gallery, Thuong Hoai Tran, Thương Hoài Trần: Cho Gia Đình: For Family
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