N H A T T R A N |  |
Education
• 2010 Guest
Researcher, Urushi Section in the Department of Crafts, Tokyo University of the
Arts (Geidai), Tokyo, Japan (April–July)
• 1987–1992 Bachelor
of Fine Arts, University of Fine Arts, in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Graduation
with highest distinction
• 1978–1983 School of Art, Ho Chi Minh City,
Vietnam
Experience
• 2009 Panelist
for the Indiana Arts Commission (visual arts)
• 2003–present Teaching Artist, VSA arts of Indiana (VSAI),
Indianapolis
• 2001 Associate
Instructor, Herron School of Art, Indiana University, Indianapolis
Public Commissions
• 2010 Finalist in
the competition for public art commissions at the New Wishard Hospital,
Indianapolis, IN (announced in October)
• 2006–08 The Indianapolis Airport Authority:
commissioning of a large urushi lacquer mural, On the Tip of Our Wings, completed in September 2008 and
inaugurated in October 2008, for the New Indianapolis Airport (Col. H. Weir
Cook Terminal, Security Area leading to Concourse B).
Museum Collections
• 2011 Wabash College
Permanent Collection of Contemporary Art, Crawfordsville, IN: Between Right and Wrong
• 2009 The Greater
Lafayette Museum of Art, Lafayette, IN: What
Are You Fighting For?
• 2005 The Indiana
State Museum, Indianapolis, IN: Fragile
Words
• 2005 The
Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC:
Points of Light, Points of Might
• 2003 The Ohr–O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi, MS: Conversation with a Child (stolen)
• 2003 National
Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC:
Emerald Embeddings
• 2001 The Renwick
Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC: A Bouquet for You
Other Collections
Public collection: Arts Council of Indianapolis, IN.
Corporate collections: Lewis Law Firm, Washington, DC; Marian, Inc., Indianapolis, IN;
Miller Veneers, Inc., Indianapolis, IN.
Private collections: major collectors from Moorpark, CA; Washington, DC; Key Biscayne, FL; River
Forest, IL; Fishers, IN; Greenwood, IN; Indianapolis, IN; McCordsville,
IN; Noblesville, IN; Westfield, IN; West Lafayette, IN; Zionsville, IN; Bethesda, MD; Chevy Chase,
MD; Rockford, NJ; Staten Island, NY; Johnson City, TX; Sheboygan, WI; Nivelles, Belgium; Hanoi, Vietnam.
Honors & Awards
• 2010 Tuition-free
scholarship as guest researcher, Tokyo University of the Arts, Japan
• 2009 Recipient
of a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis
• 2009 I Feel Fine, and You? Lacquer painting
(1999) acquired by the Arts Council of Indianapolis as retirement gift for
departing President Greg Charleston, 25 June
• 2008 Second
Prize, IDADA Fourth Annual Member
Exhibition, refereed by Midwest Museum of American Art Curator Bryan Byrn, Pivot Gallery, Indianapolis, February
• 2006 Recognition
by the City-County Council of the City of Indianapolis and of Marion County,
Indiana, through Special Resolution no. 13, 2006, Indianapolis, March
• 2006 Best
of Show, IDADA Second Annual Member
Exhibition, refereed by former Director of the Indianapolis Museum of Art
Brett Waller, Stutz Art Gallery, Indianapolis, February
• 2005 The Heart’s Closet, an oil painting,
chosen for the cover graphic for a book titled From the Heart’s Closet: A Young Girl’s World War II Story by Anneliese “Lee” Krauter
(Indianapolis: The Schatzi Press, Hawthorne
Publishing, 2005; URL: http://theschatzipress.com/author.html).
• 2001 Prize
winner, “Indiana Now,” Biennial Juried Exhibition of Contemporary Indiana
Artists, The Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, February
• 2000 “Indiana
artist of the month,” Indianapolis Museum of Art, January
• 1999 Recipient
of a Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship from the Arts Council of Indianapolis,
June
Solo Exhibitions
• 2012 Forthcoming. Curated
by Shannon Linker. Gallery 924, the Arts Council of Indianapolis, IN,
January 20–February 24
• 2011 Unveiled Layers: Exhibition by Nhat Tran. Curated
by Michael Atwell. Eric Dean Gallery, Fine Arts Center, Wabash College, IN,
February 28–April 8
• 2007 Nhat Tran. Healing Arts Indy,
Indianapolis, IN, November–December
• 2006 The Art of Lacquer Painting: Mixing Light
with Life. Nhat Tran. The Wiessman Gallery,
Chicago, IL, June
• 2006 Abstract Consciousness. Part of series
titled In Her Element: The Art of Four
Women. Galerie Penumbra, Indianapolis, IN, May
• 2005 Nhat Tran. Next in the Gallery, Herron
Gallery of Art, Herron School of Art & Design, IUPUI, Indianapolis, IN,
February–March
• 2004 Nhat Tran. Urushi: New
Directions—Contemporary Lacquer Paintings, David Adamson Gallery,
Washington, DC, October–November
• 2003 Nhat Tran: Contemporary Vietnamese Lacquer
Paintings, The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi,
MS, March–June
• 2002 Nhat Tran: From Blackness to Brilliance,
John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, WI, November–February 2003
• 2001 Walter Wickiser Gallery, Soho, New York,
NY, April–May
• 2000 Creative
Renewal Arts Fellowship Solo Exhibition, Indianapolis Artsgarden,
IN, September
• 2000 Contemporary Vietnamese Lacquer Paintings,
Chao Phraya Gallery, Washington, DC, April–May
• 2000 “In
Indiana” Gallery, Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN, January
• 1998 Lacquers from Vietnam, Germaine’s,
Washington, DC, May–June
• 1998 Lacquers from Vietnam, 4 Star Gallery,
Indianapolis, IN, February
Group Exhibitions
• 2012 Forthcoming in Japan. Resonant Uruwashi: New Vibrance in International Women's Urushi Art. Curated by
Sakurako Matshushima and Fumie Sasai. Yamawaki Gallery, Tokyo: 14 Sept.–1 Oct.; Gallery of Kyoto City University: 6–21 Oct.;
Kitakata City Museum of Art, Fukushima Prefecture: 27 Oct.–25 Nov.
• 2011 Female Urushi Artists' Solidarity with the People of Tohoku. Curated by
Sakurako Matshushima and Fumie Sasai. Aizu Fukushima Urushi Art Festival, Exhibition Hall of Aizuwakamatsu City,
Japan, October 1–November 23
• 2011 The Culture of Lacquer. Tainan International
Treechi Art Exhibition, Chon Yei Arts Center, Tainan, Taiwan, July 2–November 13;
organized by the Lacquer Arts Association of Taiwan, Tainan City, Taiwan
• 2011 Asian Arts & Artists Exhibition. Garfield Park Arts Center, Indianapolis,
4 June–24 July
• 2011 (shout!) 2009–2010 Creative Renewal Arts Fellowship Retrospective
(Arts Council of Indianapolis), Indianapolis Art Center, 15 April–5 June
• 2011 Facing East: Contemporary Asian Art. Selected
Works. Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY, 4
March–2 April
• 2010 World of Lacquer. Material, Process, Spirit.
2010 Hubei International Lacquer Triennial, Hubei Museum of Art, Wuhan, Hubei,
China. Invited artist. Sep.–Oct.
• 2010 Urushi Works from International Artists.
Exhibit Room, Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai),
Tokyo, Japan, May–June
• 2010 Walking from the Age of Hemudu.
Third International Exhibition of Chi Art, Fujian Art Museum, Fuzhou City,
Fujian, China, May–June
• 2009 Making It in the Midwest: Artists Who Chose
to Stay. Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN,
June–Oct.
• 2009 Mind and Matter: 21st Century Indiana Art.
Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN,
March–May
• 2009 Art for a New Century: Works Desired for the
Permanent Collection. Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, Lafayette, IN,
Jan.–Mar.
• 2008 Asian Festival & Exhibition.
Garfield Park Arts Center & Pagoda, Indianapolis, May–June.
• 2008 Fourth Annual IDADA Member Exhibition,
juried by Bryan Byrn, Pivot Gallery, Indianapolis,
Feb.
• 2007 A Chaotic Serenity: The Art of Nhat Tran and
Wug Laku. Wug Laku’s Studio & Garage,
Indianapolis, IN, July
• 2007 Third Annual IDADA Member Exhibition,
juried by Kaytie Johnson, Stutz Art Gallery,
Indianapolis, Feb.
• 2006–07 Curator’s
Choice: Highlighting Indiana Art. Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, IN,
Aug. ’06–Oct. ’07
• 2006 The World of Lacquer: Nhat Tran and Tran
Hoang Son. Duo exhibition. Fielding Lecht
Gallery, Austin, TX, Sept.–Oct.
• 2006 Studio B
Sculpture Invitational, Cincinnati, OH, June. See http://www.artforthemasses.blogspot.com/
• 2006 Second Annual IDADA Member Exhibition,
juried by Christopher Daniel, Stutz Art Gallery, Indianapolis, Feb.
• 2005 Holiday Group Show. The Wiessman Gallery, Chicago, IL, Nov.–Jan. 2006
• 2005 Whispers to Shouts. Indiana Women Who Create
Art, Indiana State Museum, Indianapolis, Feb.–Jul.
• 2005 “Indiana
Now” Biennial Juried Competition, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, IN,
Feb.–Apr.
• 2005 Works by Members of IDADA, juried, Stutz
Art Gallery, Indianapolis, Feb.
• 2004 The
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington, DC, on view March and Nov.
• 2004 Group Show, Domont
Studio Gallery, Indianapolis, IN, Feb.
• 2004 8th Annual San Francisco Arts of
Pacific Asia Show, The Rosenberg Group, Fort Mason Center Festival
Pavilion, San Francisco, CA, Feb.
• 2003–04 No
Boundaries—A Multicultural Viewpoint, Dean Johnson Gallery,
Indianapolis, IN, Oct.–Nov.; Holiday
One-Piece Show, ibid., Nov.–Jan. 2004
• 2003 13th Annual Arts of Asia & Oceania Show,
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, Los Angeles, CA, Oct.
• 2003 13th Annual
Dream Home Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN, Aug.–Sept.
• 2003 79th Annual
Hoosier Salon Juried Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN, Aug.–Sept.
• 2003 Dialogue des cultures, United Nations
Headquarters, New York, NY, Mar.–Apr.
• 2003 Scapes, Harrison Center for the Arts,
Indianapolis, IN, Feb.–Mar.
• 2002–07 Permanent Collection of American Craft, Renwick Gallery of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC, on view from Nov. ’02 to
Spring ’07
• 2002–06 True
Colors: Meditations on the American Spirit
[An exhibition that toured nationally and internationally under
the aegis of the Meridian International Center in Washington, DC. An artistic
response to the tragedy of September eleven, True Colors offered a meditation on some of the qualities that made
our nation able to respond to and recover from September eleven. Nhat Tran was
the only Indiana artist represented in that exhibition.]
City Hall Arts and Cultural Center, Lake Charles, LA, Sept.
’05–Jan. ’06
The Ohr-O’Keefe Museum of Art, Biloxi,
MS, June–Aug. ’05
The Sixth Floor Museum at Dealy Plaza,
Dallas, TX, Feb.–June ’05
Danubiana Gallery, Bratislava, Slovakia, Apr.–May ’04
National Gallery of Arts, Tirana, Albania, Feb.–Mar. ’04
Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, Northern Ireland, Jan.–Feb. ’04
Millennium Court Arts Centre, Portadown, Northern Ireland, Nov.–Dec. ’03
The Allied Museum,
Berlin, Germany, Aug.–Nov. ’03
The Montgomery Armory
Art Center, West Palm Beach, FL, May–Aug. ’03
The Society of the Four Arts, Palm Beach, FL, Apr.–May ’03
Sun Trust Plaza Gallery, Atlanta, GA, Oct. ’02–Jan. ’03
Çankaya Cultural Center, Ankara, Turkey, Oct. ’02
Topkapi Palace, Istanbul, Turkey, Sept. ’02
The National Arts Club, New York, NY, Jul.–Aug. ’02
Meridian International Center, Washington, DC, Feb.–Apr. ’02
• 2002 International
Visions–The Gallery, Washington, DC, Dec.–Jan. 2003
• 2002 Seeing Red, Harrison Center for the
Arts, Indianapolis, IN, Dec.
• 2002 Asian Identities, Small Works Room,
Walter Wickiser Gallery, New York, NY, Apr.
• 2002 Dialogue des cultures, United Nations
Headquarters, New York, NY, Mar.–Apr.
• 2001 Creative
Renewal Fellows Exhibition, Indianapolis Art Center, Aug.–Sept.
• 2001 Cambridge
Art Association National Prize Show, juried by Maxwell Anderson, Cambridge, MA,
Jun.–Jul.
• 2001 Group
shows, Ruschman Art Gallery, Indianapolis, IN,
Mar.–Nov.
• 2001 77th Annual
Hoosier Salon Juried Exhibition, Indianapolis, IN, Aug.–Sept.
• 2001 International
Visions–The Gallery, Washington, DC, Mar.–Apr.
• 2001 “Indiana Now”
Biennial Juried Competition, Art Museum of Greater Lafayette, IN, Feb.
• 2000 International
Juried Competition Face to Face 2,
Stage Gallery, Merrick, NY, May–June
• 2000 Ruschman Art Gallery, Indianapolis, IN
Presentations
• 2010 “A Modern
Interpretation of an Ancient Asian Art Form.” PowerPoint-based lecture at the
Greater Lafayette Museum of Art, Lafayette, IN, 12 October 2010.
• 2003 “The Art of
Lacquer Painting.” Two presentations at the Ohr-O’Keefe
Museum of Art, Biloxi, MS, 8 and 9 March 2003.
Publications
• 2011 Baker, Nancy. “Precious Energy. The Ninth
Zen Precept: Not Being Angry.” Feature article by Nancy Baker | Artwork by Nhat Tran, in Tricycle | The Buddhist Review, summer 2011, pp. 78–81, 119–20.
See http://www.tricycle.com/feature/precious-energy.
• 2011 Amidon, Jim.
“ ‘Unveiled Layers’ Opens Monday.” The Papers of Montgomery County Online, 25 February 2011,
http://www.the paper24-7.com/main.asp?SectionID=23&SubSectionID=22&ArticleID=29898.
• 2011 Webmaster.
“ ‘Unveiled Layers’ Open in Art Gallery.” Wabash College,
http://www.wabash.edu/news/displaystory.cfm?news_ID=8734.
• 2011 Kohn, Rita.
“Unveiled Layers: The Art of Nhat Tran [4 ½ stars]” Nuvo, A&E Reviews, March 2–9, 2011, vol. 21 issue 54 issue
#1029, p. 21. Also “Nhat Tran’s Unveiled Layers,”
http://www.nuvo.net/indianapolis/review-nhat-trans-unveiled-layers/Content?oid=2098205.
• 2010 Chinese
Editors. World of Lacquer. Material,
Process, Spirit. 2010 Hubei International Lacquer Triennial, Hubei Museum
of Art, Wuhan, Hubei, China. Exhibition catalogue, 2010, pp. 119–24.
• 2010 Chinese
Editors. Walking from the Age of Hemudu to the Future. Third Exhibition of International
Chi Art, 2010 Works Collection. Fuzhou City, Fujian, China: Culture and Art
Publishing House, 2010, p. 91. ISBN 978-7-5039-4569-4.
• 2009 IND
Foundation, Inc. IND – The Art of
It All. Art, Architecture, and Cuisine at the Indianapolis International
Airport. Indianapolis, IN: Emmis Publishing, 2009. Artist profile, pp.
86–89. ISBN 978-0-615-32217-9.
• 2009 Perry,
Rachel Berenson. Making It in the
Midwest: Artists Who Chose to Stay. Catalogue of the exhibition, Indiana
State Museum, June 20–October 18, 2009, pp. 44–45.
• 2008 Editors.
“Traveling Exhibit.” The Indianapolis
Monthly. November 2008. URL: http://www.indianapolismonthly.com/gallery.aspx?id=46442&image=7
• 2008 Knox,
Fuller. “Ready for Takeoff — Nhat Tran: An artist takes flight.” Feature
article in Indianapolis Woman. Vol.
15, number 11, November 2008, pp. 42–47. URL: http://www.indianapoliswoman.com/archive.asp?r=2008\nov\main-features\inside\inside.txt
• 2007 Watt Grade,
Susan. Review. “Nhat Tran *** ½.” Under “a&e,
Arts Clips: Visual Art” in Nuvo. Indianapolis, IN: 11.28.07–12.05.07, p. 19.
URL: http://www.nuvo.net/articles/nhat_tran_/
• 2007 Monteith, Clifton. “Traditional Japanese Craft Mediums as
Ambassadors of Contemporary Cultural Exchanges: One Craftsman’s Expanding
Encounters.” In Inaga, Shigemi
and Patricia Fister, eds., Traditional Japanese Arts and Crafts in the 21st Century:
Reconsidering the Future from an International Perspective. International
Symposium, November 8–12, 2005. Kyoto, Japan: International Research
Center for Japanese Studies, 2007, p. 309.
• 2007 McCoy,
Richard. “The art and craft of Nhat Tran.” Under “a&e,
Visual Art” in Nuvo. Indianapolis, IN:
10.24.07–10.31.07, p. 27. URL: http://www.nuvo.net/arts/article/art-and-craft-nhat-tran
• 2007 Editors. “Nhat
and Wug.” Nuvo, Visual Arts,
July 4, 2007. URL: http://www.nuvo.net/articles/nhat_and_wug/
• 2007 Cura Schlossberger, Maricar. “Indiana’s Asian Artists: Nhat Tran: Art of Mixing
Light & Life.” Asian Access.
Munster, IN: Cura-Schlossberger Design and
Publishing, Inc., Vol. 1, Issue 6, July–August 2007, p. 7.
• 2007 Berry, Skip
L. “Flights of Artistry. Artport: Painter finds her
passion in ancient art technique.” The
Indianapolis Star: Indy Sunday. April 29, 2007, pp. 1, 6–7. Reprinted
from indystar.com in VietnamArt Books.com at http://www.vietnamartbooks.com/articles/article.html?id=1463
• 2006 Fort, V.
Marc. Review. “2 Takes on Vietnamese Folk Art.” [About the exhibition ‘World of
Lacquer” in Austin, TX.] Austin
American-Statesman, entertainment website austin360.com, Wednesday, September 13, 2006. URL: http://www.austin360.com/arts/content/arts/stories/xl/2006/09/14reviews.html.
Also at http://artaustin.org/reviews-200609.html - lacquer.
• 2006 Editors. Review.
“Luxurious Lacquer.” [About the exhibition ‘World of Lacquer” in Austin, TX.] Art Austin Newsletter, September 2006,
vol. IV issue V. URL: http://www.inthegalleriesaustin.com/eletter.htm.
• 2006 Thibodeaux,
Julianna. Review. “Poetry or what? Revealing the
mystery. Nhat Tran, Galerie Penumbra.” Nuvo, Visual Arts, May 2006.
• 2006 Miller,
Holly G., and Alicia Dean Carlson. “Community Development: Time Out.” Lilly Endowment Annual Report 2006: Renewal.
Indianapolis, IN: Lilly Endowment Inc., 2006, pp. 1, 18–19. See PDF: http://www.lillyendowment.org/annualreports/LEAR2006_pdf/Community.pdf
• 2006 Kim, Theodore.
“Indianapolis’ New Airport Terminal. Sights for Soaring Eyes.” The Indianapolis Star, Wednesday,
January 18, 2006, pp. A1, A7.
• 2005 Perry,
Rachel B. “Nhat Tran.” Whispers to
Shouts: Indiana Women Who Create Art. Indianapolis, IN: Indiana State Museum,
2005, p. 50.
• 2004 Goodman,
Janis. Review. “Urushi: New Directions—Contemporary Lacquer Paintings.”
TV Broadcast, Around Town Best Bites,
WETA Channel 26 Production, Washington DC: Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and
Friday, November 1–5, 2004.
• 2004 Thibodeaux,
Julianna. Review. “Art’s spiritual grounding.” Nuvo, Visual Arts, February 18, 2004. URL: http://nuvo.net/articles/article_1976/
• 2004 Russick, David. “Nhat Tran: Inclination to Believe.” Next in the Gallery. Indianapolis, IN:
Herron Gallery, IUPUI Herron School of Art, 2004, pp. 49–50.
• 2003 “Portfolio:
Nhat Tran.” American Craft. New York:
American Craft Council. August/September 2003, p. 61.
• 2003 Editors. “Ohr to Feature Vietnamese lacquer painting beginning
March.” Biloxi, MS: The Bay Press,
vol. 30, no. 74, March 7, 2003, p. 1.
• 2003 Editor.
“Nhat Tran: From Blackness to Brilliance.” John
Michael Kohler Arts Center, January/February 2003, under “Exhibitions.”
• 2002 Cullum, Jerry. Review: “America in the Wake of Sept. 11.
True Colors: Meditations on the American Spirit.” The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Friday, Dec. 6, 2002, p. Q6.
• 2002 Pappas,
Mary Lee. “Nhat Tran: visual artist.” Under “Cultural initiative: Indy’s
artistic innovators” in Nuvo/2002 Arts
Guide, Sept. 4–11, 2002, p. 14.
• 2002 “Nhat Tran:
Points of Light, Points of Might, 2001.” True
Colors: Meditations on the American Spirit. Washington DC: Meridian
International Center, 2002, p. 19.
• 2002 “Culture.” Vietnam: The New Century. Washington,
DC: Embassy of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in the USA, 2002, p. 19.
• 2001 “Nhat Tran:
Recent Paintings.” ARTnews, April 2001, p. 63.
Websites
• Personal website: http://www.urushi-artist.com/
• Arts Council of Indianapolis. “Meet Indy Artists” at
indyarts.org. URL: http://www.indyarts.org/meetindyartists.aspx?ty=alp&lr=T&id=3817
• National Museum of Women in the Arts. Clara Database of Women
Artists: http://clara.nmwa.org/index.php?g=entity_detail&entity_id=15403
• Indiana State Museum. Museum collections. URL: http://museumcollections.in.gov/detail.php?t=objects&type=browse&f=maker&s=Nhat+Tran&record=0
• VSA arts of Indiana. URL: http://www.vsai.org/NhatTran.html