Portfolio
ARTIST STATEMENT
I am a multi-media landscape artist from Vietnam. Working across the disciplines of animation, video, virtual reality, sound, painting, and drawing, I am interested in finding relationships among places interwoven with my memories, current experiences, and future dreams. Having lived in both Vietnam and the US, I am fortunate to deeply experience the cultural mix between the two countries, as well as their diverse landscapes and unique histories. My artwork connects traditional art and applied technology to enhance the beauty of traditional art in a technology era as well as convey metaphor messages and value in every created work.
ANIMATION PROJECTS
Title: Endless Reverie
Year: 2022
Size: 1920x1080
Medium: 3D animation, 2D animation with digital painting, sound recording from Vietnam(Hue city) and Belle Isle-Richmond
Description: Endless Reverie is a captivating exploration of the ephemeral nature of the land and its transformation into a realm of spirit once departed. Inspired by the evocative lines of the poem "Tieng hat con tau" by Vietnamese poet Che Lan Vien, Endless Reverie encapsulates the essence of human connection to the land. As the viewer immerses themselves in the visual and auditory tapestry, they are transported to a realm where the physical landscape transcends its material form and resonates with the soulful echoes of memories and experiences.
Through meticulous craftsmanship and poetic storytelling, Endless Reverie invites viewers to ponder the transient nature of existence and the enduring spirit of the places we call home. It serves as a poignant reminder of the profound bond between humanity and the land, inviting introspection and reverence for the interconnectedness of life's journey.
Senior Show Screening- Pandemonium at the Byrd Theater- Richmond, VA
Title: The Umbrella
Year: 2021
Size: 1920x1080
Medium: Stop-motion animation, hand drawing with color pastel, paper cut, dragon frame software
Description: A storytelling describes the inner process of people when going through levels of emotions from joy, excitement to disappointment, pain, anger and then trying to find a sense of peace. Could we overcome ourselves and negative impact of the society and environment to find peace of mind? I designed the soundtrack and made by Adobe Audition.
Award of the most sensible animation, International Student Animation Film Festival Animafantasia 2021
INSTALLATION
VR HEASET
An experience along with Baotran's memories about places.
The landscape mixed between crop of fields, palm trees, tropical plants at Vietnam and Belle Isle features
IMERSIVE ENVIRONMENT
SELECTED UNDERGRADUATE JURIED EXHIBITION - Juried by Anna Katz
Title: A part of my memory
Media : oil painting on panel
Year Completed : 2020
Dimensions : 18in. x 24in.
Description: A trial for a technic - Trompe l'œil. The Trompe l’oeil painting by Judith Barter has fascinated me since the first time I saw it at the Art Institute of Chicago. I have memory fragments that have occupied an important part of my life. By reconnecting them against the backdrop of my grandpa's closet, I wanted to record them as a reminder of the value of time, space, and location.
Undergraduate Juried Exhibition 2020, The Anderson Gallery, Richmond, VA
PAINTING
Title: Cau- The man from the moon
Media : oil painting on canvas
Year Completed : 2020
Dimensions : 18in. x 24in.
Description: A portrait for Uncle
"Thanks for teaching me
How to be kind to others
How to stay calm before the storm
And how to understand that to be is not to be, not to be is to be".
The third prize at Vong tay nuoc My 9- Dallas 2021
Title: One night
Media : oil painting on canvas
Year Completed : 2022
Dimensions : 24in. x 18in.
Description: Self-portrait with a twist – depicting yourself with an imagined change in your appearance based on a chosen influence.
VIDEO
Title: James River
Year: 2021
Size: 1920x1080
Medium: video, drone camera, stereo sound
Description: This video captures the enchantment of James River. The cohesion of time, body, and soil is etched through the elements: the large overhead view that shows humans as part of the land and river, the marks on the granite, the appearance of the leaf caught in the web, the time spent with the Great Blue Heron, the quiet as we witness the Heron’s intense focus as it hunts fish in the river, stalking its prey. The project is inspired by the book The Japanese Art of Forest by Shinrin Yoku.
"Forest bathing is a way of slowing down and being in a place, without plan or direction. It is not a hike. It is sensing with all of the senses. Wandering intuitively".
Title: Boundary
Year: 2021
Size: 1920x1080
Medium: Mix Media (Video, Animation, Acrylic Painting)
Description: “Boundary" tells a story about the division of mind in humans, where both contrasting thoughts exist. I created a painting that contains the aspiration in my mind - the desire to maintain balance in human life, and conveys the message that self-awareness is the prerequisite for achieving equilibrium in the future.
GAME DEVELOPMENT
SNAKE GAME
Media : coding javacript
Year Completed : 2020
Dimensions : canvas 400x600.
Link game:
VR GAME PROJECT BY KINETIC IMAGING AND COMPUTER SCIENCE (VCU-SPRING 2022)
Liminal.pdfCERAMIC
Title: Tea Pot
Media : ceramic-stoneware.
Year Completed : 2019.
Dimensions : 6’’ x 6’’ x 10’’
Description: The yellow brown color represents the soil. The green color symbolizes the grass. I hope they bring a close feeling with nature for users.
Title: Hope in the wartime
Media : ceramic-coil pottery.
Year Completed : 2019.
Dimensions : 12"x5"x5"
Description: The work is inspired by the Vietnam War in the period 1945 to 1975. The human wounds suffered from the war and after that are invisible, profound and tingling ones. But not because of that, people lose all hope. Optimism morale and beauty soul always in our hearts.