Kieu Tran is a first generation Vietnamese American artist based in NYC.
She creates elegant, sensuous, biomorphic ceramic sculptures that exist somewhere between the abstract and figurative. In her work, Kieu strives to give expression to emotion, to allow the aesthetic of the form to tell you something about the inspiration behind the piece on a wordless, instinctual level. She considers her sculptures to be an effort that gives form to the human soul and to remind us of our shared humanity.
For studies, Kieu obtained a bachelor’s degree in art history from UCLA and studied art while living in Italy and Germany. In 2014, Kieu followed an intriguing pull to Silicon Valley where she learned to code in 2014 and soon after became a full time software engineer. On a parallel path, she also developed a serious ceramic art practice. Immersing in the two practices side-by-side, Kieu eventually realized that she was always meant to be an artist. In January of 2021, Kieu left tech to pursue her passion of becoming a full time artist.
Tran has exhibited at the Bakersfield Museum of Art, Art Miami, Art Market SF, and various Bay Area galleries. Featured in Interior Design Magazine, Surface Magazine, Sight Unseen, EST Living, and Design Anthology Asia, her art resides in private collections worldwide.
Statement
I sculpt sensuous, biomorphic forms that strive to give form to the human soul. As a first-generation Vietnamese American immigrant woman, I delve into my personal history, extracting emotions that surpass the specificity of my experience. These sculptures, while inspired by my cultural and individual identity, transcend into meditations on universal emotions, emphasizing the interconnectedness of our shared human experience.
Central to my artistic exploration is an exploration of the fluidity of identity, memory, and the influence of societal norms. Within this introspection, my sculptures become profound reflections on the universal human yearning for love, belonging, and connection. Amidst these contemplations, my sculptures steadfastly celebrate beauty, recognizing its spiritual function in guiding us through hardship and pain.
My creative process is anchored in meditation, surrender, and self-examination. Within this framework, clay emerges as my chosen medium—a material that allows a profound, wordless conversation akin to the soul. This tactile, nonlinguistic dialogue allows for unconscious and instinctive expression, providing immediacy and a grounding connection to the Earth.
What captivates me about clay is its perpetual transformation on the journey to its final form, making it a poetic conduit for expressing the complexities of our human experience. Clay is also an interesting material because it holds memory. Like people, clay bears the imprints of external forces that shape and mold it, encapsulating memories that define its essence. This shared transformative quality is why clay is my preferred medium for artistic expression.
The sculptures serve as psychological self-portraits, capturing moments frozen in time. Utilizing traditional coil, pinch, and slab building techniques, I deliberately construct them hollow, infusing each coil with a tangible record of my movements, time, memories, and emotions. This tactile, wordless dialogue embodies the core of my artistic approach. Inflating the sculpture's cavity with my emotions and thoughts, I subsequently close it, releasing a tangible embodiment of my inner world.
This medium and technique, crucial to my process, allows for introspective learning, enabling me to understand myself, my origins, and my current journey in a detached, non-judgmental manner. Delving into the depths of my subconscious, my intention is to inspire others to embark on a similar journey of self-discovery, fostering a realization of our shared universal connection.