Tam Van Tran (American, born Vietnam, 1966). *Untitled*, 2007. Acrylic, spirulina, pencil, collage, and staples on paper, 16 x 14 x 4 7/8 inches (40.6 x 35.6 x 12.4 cm). Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York; Charles Clifton Fund, 2008 (2008:40.1). © 2007 Tam Van Tran

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Tam Van Tran

American and Vietnamese, born 1966

Untitled, 2007

acrylic, spirulina, pencil, collage, and staples on paper

sheet: 16 x 14 x 4 7/8 inches (40.64 x 35.56 x 12.38 cm)

Collection Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York

Charles Clifton Fund, 2008

2008:40.1

More Details

Class

Paintings

Drawings

Collages

Work Type

Acrylic painting (visual work)

Drawing (visual work)

Collage (visual work)

This information may change due to ongoing research. Glossary of Terms

Tam Van Tran blurs the boundaries between painting, drawing, and sculptural practices by merging traditional materials—such as canvas, paper, and paint—with decidedly less conventional ones—including algae, beet juice, eggshells, spirulina, and staples. His distinctive working methods result in hand-molded abstractions that resemble aerial maps when viewed from afar and are layered with nuances that reveal the artist’s hand. He begins by painting and drawing an image on paper that he then manipulates into a three-dimensional object by cutting, hole-punching, stapling, and other processes. Tran’s work is full of dualities—abstraction and representation, natural and manmade, terrestrial and otherworldly. Through his imagery the artist, who is a devout Buddhist, explores the complexity of our universe, aiming to reconcile East and West by pursuing meditative mindfulness and beauty alongside darker sensibilities of violence and aggression.

Label from Drawing: The Beginning of Everything, July 8–October 15, 2017