
Tam Van Tran
“Melting,” 2019
“Melting,” 2019
Tam Van Tran
“Melting,” 2019
Glazed ceramic
Inventory #TRA355
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane
“Melting,” 2019
Glazed ceramic
Inventory #TRA355
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

Tam Van Tran
“Divination Jar 1,” 2019
“Divination Jar 1,” 2019
Tam Van Tran
“Divination Jar 1,” 2019
Glazed ceramic
25 x 27 x 17" [HxWxD] (63.5 x 68.58 x 43.18 cm)
Inventory #TRA352
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
“Divination Jar 1,” 2019
Glazed ceramic
25 x 27 x 17" [HxWxD] (63.5 x 68.58 x 43.18 cm)
Inventory #TRA352
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles

Tam Van Tran
The Radiance of Awareness I, 2012
The Radiance of Awareness I, 2012
Tam Van Tran
The Radiance of Awareness I, 2012
Acrylic, Color Pencil, Spirulina and staples on paper and canvas.
86"x 104" X 23"
The Radiance of Awareness I, 2012
Acrylic, Color Pencil, Spirulina and staples on paper and canvas.
86"x 104" X 23"

Tam Van Tran
Simple Folk Song, 2012
Simple Folk Song, 2012
Tam Van Tran
Simple Folk Song, 2012
High fire glaze and glass on ceramic
48" x 36 1/2" x 2 1/2"
Simple Folk Song, 2012
High fire glaze and glass on ceramic
48" x 36 1/2" x 2 1/2"

Tam Van Tran
Bodhisattva V, 2012
Bodhisattva V, 2012
Tam Van Tran
Bodhisattva V, 2012
Low fire glazed ceramic
16" x 17 1/2" x 6"
Bodhisattva V, 2012
Low fire glazed ceramic
16" x 17 1/2" x 6"

Tam Van Tran
Slogan Vase III, 2012
Slogan Vase III, 2012
Tam Van Tran
Slogan Vase III, 2012
Low fire glazed ceramic
21" x 15" x 14"
Slogan Vase III, 2012
Low fire glazed ceramic
21" x 15" x 14"

Tam Van Tran
Ghosts IV, 2012
Ghosts IV, 2012
Tam Van Tran
Ghosts IV, 2012
High fire glaze and glass on ceramic
Ghosts IV, 2012
High fire glaze and glass on ceramic

Tam Van Tran
Refugees with Guiding Spirit, 2017
Refugees with Guiding Spirit, 2017
Tam Van Tran
Refugees with Guiding Spirit, 2017
Glazed ceramic
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane
Refugees with Guiding Spirit, 2017
Glazed ceramic
Dimensions variable
Courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles
Photo credit: Jeff McLane

Tam Van Tran
2010
2010
Tam Van Tran
2010
India ink on gesso, on linen, on board
11" x 14" each
Installation view
2010
India ink on gesso, on linen, on board
11" x 14" each
Installation view

Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Untitled, 2008
Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Staples, acrylic, spirulina on canvas on paper
53" x 45" x 22.5"
Untitled, 2008
Staples, acrylic, spirulina on canvas on paper
53" x 45" x 22.5"

Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Untitled, 2008
Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic, candle
26" x 21 1/2" x 21 1/2"
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic, candle
26" x 21 1/2" x 21 1/2"

Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Untitled, 2008
Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic, candle
25 1/2" x 21 1/2" x 21"
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic, candle
25 1/2" x 21 1/2" x 21"

Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Untitled, 2008
Tam Van Tran
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic
Untitled, 2008
Ceramic

Tam Van Tran
Beetle Manifesto III (path of no more learning), 2002
Beetle Manifesto III (path of no more learning), 2002
Tam Van Tran
Beetle Manifesto III (path of no more learning), 2002
Chlorophyll, spirulina, silica, pigments, paper, strips, aluminum foil, staples on paper
47" x 50"
Beetle Manifesto III (path of no more learning), 2002
Chlorophyll, spirulina, silica, pigments, paper, strips, aluminum foil, staples on paper
47" x 50"

Tam Van Tran
Slow Burn, 2001
Slow Burn, 2001
Tam Van Tran
Slow Burn, 2001
Acrylic on canvas o board
60" x 34"
Slow Burn, 2001
Acrylic on canvas o board
60" x 34"
- Born in Kontum, Vietnam
- Lives and works in Los Angeles
- 1996
- Graduate Film and Television Program, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- 1990
- BFA Painting, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
Selected Exhibitions
- 2017
- "Black Melong," Ameringer | McEnery | Yohe, New York, NY
- 2015
- "EXODUS," Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- "Aikido Dream," MCA Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA
- Breathing, Art Gallery, Long Beach City College, Long Beach, CA
- 2014
- Anthony Meier Fine Arts, San Francisco, CA
- 2013
- Leaves of Ore, Ameringer, McEnery, Yohe, New York, NY
- 2012
- "Adornment of Basic Space", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- 2010
- Anthony Meier Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
- 2008
- Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- Luminosity, Cohan and Leslie, New York, NY
- 2006
- "Tam Van Tran: Psychonaut, Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston, Houston, TX
- 2005
- "SubUrban: Tam Van Tran, Knoxville Museum, Knoxville, Tennessee, curated by Dana Self
- 2004
- "Tam Van Tran: Lord of Hot Butter", Anthony Meier Fine Art, San Francisco, CA
- 2003
- "Vegetarian Summer", Cohan, Leslie and Browne, New York, NY
- 2002
- "Beetle Manifesto", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles
- "Lovers of Air", Leslie, Cohan and Browne, New York, NY
- 2001
- "Lo-Tech Frequency", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles
- 2000
- "Paintings", Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles, CA
- "Cold Frost", Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA
Group Exhibitions
- 2022
- "The Hand that Forms a Mirror," MORÁN MORÁN, Los Angeles, CA
- "Plants Now!," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- 2020
- "20 Years," Vielmetter Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- 2018
- “Carbon,” FOCA, Los Angeles, CA (Link)
- 2017
- “Drawing: The Beginning of Everything,” Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
- “Man Alive,” curated by Wendy White, Maruani Mercier, Brussels, Belgium
- 2015
- Paperworks, Craft and Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
- 2013
- "New works of painting, photography, sculpture and video" The Margulies Collection at the Warehouse, Miami, FL
- "High Low," Irvine Fine Arts Center, Irvine, CA
- "Pattern: Follow the Rules", Eli and Edythe Broad Art Museum, Lansing, MI; traveling to the Museum of Contemporary Art (MCA) Denver, CO
- 2012
- "Tam Van Tran and DeWey Ambrosino", San Art, Vietnam
- "Facing West/Looking East", Oceanside Museum of Art, Oceanside, CA
- 2011
- Paul Clay, Salon 94, New York, NY
- "east EX east", curated by Jane Neal, Brand New Gallery, Milan, Italy
- 2010
- Ascending Dragon: Contemporary Vietnamese Artists Exhibition, Armory Center for the Arts, Pasadena, CA
- "Fresh from Chelsea", University of Central Florida, Orlando, FL
- Inaugural Group Exhibition, Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Culver City, CA
- Keramik, Pacific Design Center, Los Angeles, CA
- 2009
- ArtBasel Miami, 2 person presentation with Ruben Ochoa, with Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects
- "Topographies", Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo NY
- 2008
- "California Dreaming", Seiler + Mosseri-Marlio , Zurich
- "Fata Morgana", Galerie Schmidt Maczollek, Cologne
- 2007
- "Large Scale Drawings", MFA Houston, Houston TX
- "Nineteen Going on Twenty: Recent Acquisitions from the Collection of The Contemporary Museum", The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii
- 2006
- "Supervision", Institute of Contemporary Art Boston
- 2005
- "Around About Abstraction, Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC
- 2004
- The Whitney Biennial, Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY
- "Topographies", San Francisco Art Institute, San Francisco, CA traveling to: The Pasadena Museum of California Art, July 16 - September 26, 2004
- "Art on Paper", Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC
- 2003
- "International Paper", UCLA Hammer Museum, Santa Monica, CA
- 2002
- "Art on Paper", Weatherspoon Art Museum, The University of North Carolina at Greensboro, NC (catalog)
- ArtForum Berlin, Project Space, with Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Berlin, Germany
- "Friends and Family", Lombard Freid, New York, NY
- "Heike Kati Barath, Jeff Elrod, Sarah Rapson, Tam Van Tran, Cornelius Voelker, Clare Woods", Cohan, Leslie, and Browne, New York
- 2001
- "Fractals", Korean Cultural Center, Los Angeles, CA, curator Carl Berg
- "New Work: LA Painting", Hosfelt Gallery, San Francisco, CA
- "Song Poems", Leslie, Cohan and Browne, New York, NY, curator Steven Hull
- 2000
- "Radar Love", Gallery Marabini, Bologna, Italy, curator David Pagel
- "Car Pooling from LA", Asian American Art Center, New York, NY
- "Luminous", Ikon Fine Art, Santa Monica, CA, curator Chris Miles and Leonardo Bravo
- "Pierogi 2000: The Flatfiles", Yerba Buena Center for the Arts, San Francisco, CA
- Block Art Space, Kansas City Post, Los Angeles
- 1999
- "Other Paintings", Huntington Beach Art Center, curator Julie Joyce, Huntington Beach, CA
- 1990
- Kassel Documenta Archiv, Ludwig Museum, Cologne
- Stuttgart Staatsgalerie, Grafische Sammlung, Germany
Bibliography
- 2020
- Gillespie, Benjamin. "Oral history interview with Tam Van Tran," Archives of American Art, August 8
- 2017
- Shang, Danielle, “Collectors of Color on the Importance of Supporting Under-Recognized Artists,” Hyperallergic (web), November 28 (Link)
- 2016
- Brown, Betty Ann, “Paperworks,” ArtScene, January
- Donelan, Charles, “Tam Van Tran at MCASB: ‘Aikido Dream’ Emphasizes Intuition, Process,” Santa Barbara Independent (web), January 21
- 2015
- Pereira, Lorenzo, "Tam Van Tran at Susanne Vielmetter Gallery," Widewalls, April 14 (Link)
- Wood, Eve, "Pick of the Week: Tam Van Tran," Artillery, April 16 (Link)
- Zellen, Jody, Tam Van Tran, ArtScene, May
- Osborne-Bartucca, Kristen, Tam Van Tran at Susanne Vielmetter Projects, ArteFuse Magazine, May 21
- McCabe Heibel, Amy, Artists Respond: Tam Van Tran on Ed Moses, UnFramed (web), July 27 (Link)
- 2014
- Baker, Kenneth, Tam Van Tran at Anthony Meier, SF Gate, November 21 (Link)
- 2013
- Gass, Alison, Pattern: Follow the Rules, Eli and Edythe Broad Museum at Michigan State University, March
- Kee, Joan, Abstraction: Here, Now, More, Harpers Bazaar, Hong Kong Edition, May, pp. 44-45
- 2012
- Pagel, David, Tam Van Tran at Susan Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects, Los Angeles Times, March 15
- Wood, Eve, Tam Van Tran at Susan Vielmetter, Whitehot Magazine, March
- Tuck, Geoff, Tam Van Tran at Susan Vielmetter, Notes On Looking, March 21
- 2009
- Pagel, David, Glimpses of the future or past?, Los Angeles Times, January 16
- San Jose Museum of Art Unveils New Works by Tam Van Tran, Artdaily.org, October
- 2008
- Haithman, Diane, CFF art foundation announced: Fifteen LA County artists receive grants to continue pursuits in various creative fields, Los Angeles Times, May 30
- 2007
- Holographic Ensemble, Art On Paper, Vol. 11, No. 4, March/April
- 2006
- Sultan, Terrie, Tam Van Tran: Psychonaut, exhibition catalogue, Blaffer Gallery, The Art Museum of the University of Houston, Houston, TX
- Hudson, Suzanne. Tam Van Tran. Artforum, January
- Cotter, Holland, Ambitious Theme in New Home for Modern Art, New York Times, December 8
- Ouroussoff, Nicolai, Expansive Vistas Both Inside And Out, New York Times, December 8
- Shanahan, Mark, New Institute of Contemporary Art makes a `very, very cool` impression, The Boston Globe, December 3
- 2005
- Self, Dana, "SubUrban: Tam Van Tran, exhibition essay, Knoxville Museum of Art (catalog).
- 2004
- Whitney Biennial Catalog Essay, Pg.248
- DeCarlo, Tessa, "It's a Jungle in There" - Working Habits, ARTnews, pg. 126,
- Martin, Philip, "Tam Van Tran - Beetle Manifesto - Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects", Ten By Ten Magazine, pg. 56, 57, Volume 2, Number 3, February issue
- 2003
- Smith, Roberta, The New York Times, October 10
- Hiro, Rika, Bijutsu Techo Magazine, pg. 164, July
- Martin, Philip, "international paper", Tema Celeste 97, May issue
- Frank, Peter, "The Paper Chase", art on paper, April issue, pg 36-39
- Koppman, Debra, "International Paper", Artweek, February
- Helfand, Glen, "Cries and Whispers", Bay Area Reporter, February 20
- Laird, Tessa, "Tam Van Tran / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects", ART ON PAPER, March issue
- Worman, Alex, "L.A. Confidential", artnet, February
- Knight, Christopher, "Drawing, not toeing, the line", LOS ANGELES TIMES, February 7
- "International Paper - Drawings by Emerging Artists", UCLA Hammer Museum, exhibition catalog, Los Angeles, CA, 2003
- 2002
- Wood, Eve, Static Breathing, Artnet, December
- Knight, Christopher, "Piecing Together a Green Manifesto", LOS ANGELES TIMES, December 6
- Muchnic, Suzanne, "With all its hang-ups, the L.A. gallery scene thrives, LOS ANGELES TIMES, Sunday Calendar, November 24
- ArtScene, December Preview, November 25
- TRACE Magazine, issue #36, page 66
- Duncan, Michael, "Tam Van Tran at Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects", ART IN AMERICA, January issue
- 2001
- Williams, Alena, "Tam Van Tran - Susanne Vielmetter LA Projects", TEMA CELESTE, May-June issue, pg. 88
- Hackman, Kate, KANSAS CITY STAR, February
- Pagel, David, LOS ANGELES TIMES, February 16
- 2000
- Pasquini, Stefano, NYARTS, December
- Schoenkopf, Rebecca, OC WEEKLY, November 3 - 9
- Pagel, David, LOS ANGELES TIMES, July 28, 2000
- Frank, Peter, LA WEEKLY Pick of the Week, July 21 - 27
- Harvey, Doug, "Tam Van Tran / Vielmetter LA Projects", ART ISSUES, summer 2000 issue
- Pagel, David, "Tam Van Tran / Susanne Vielmetter Los Angeles Projects", LOS ANGELES TIMES, Friday, March 10
- Duncan, Michael, ARTNET, April
- Rosenberg, Jeremy, LA TIMES CALENDAR LIVE ARTPICK, March ARTSCENE, Vol. 19 No.8, April
Awards, Grants and Fellowships
- 2008
- California Community Foundation Fellowship
- Art Matters, Spring, Grantee
- 2001
- Joan Mitchell Foundation Grant for Painting
- Pollock Krasner Fellowship
- 1993
- Ucross Artists Residency, Ucross, WI
- 1991
- Creative Fellowship in the Visual Arts, Colorado Council on the Arts and Humanities
Public Collections
- Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY
- The Broad, Los Angeles, CA
- California State University Art Gallery, Long Beach, CA
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
- The Contemporary Museum, Honolulu, HI
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC
- Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston, MA
- Museum of Contempoary Art Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX
- Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY
- The Neuberger Museum, Purchase, NY
- New Mexico Museum of Art, Santa Fe, NM
- San Jose Museum of Art, San Jose, CA
- Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
- Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY