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BIO

Hoai-My Tran is a visual artist based in California. Her work crosses a broad range of media, but is currently focused on oil painting. At present, she is attending University as a BFA Pictorial Arts major exploring various concepts, techniques, and mediums. Her work is deep set into the process of painting -- methodically choosing and mixing colors as well as creating a multitude of designs before implementing them. At the moment, she is creating abstract oil paintings that captures the feelings of memory during the meticulous preliminary process, and then building off the moment captured in the previous mark rather than the remembered scene. 

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EDUCATION

     2017     Bachelor of Fine Art, San Jose State University

SOLO EXHIBITIONS

     2017     Sept 4 - 8 Ink on Newsprint, Gallery 8, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2017     Oct 2 - 6 BFA Show, Gallery 3, SJSU, San Jose, CA

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

     2017     Under Pressure, Gallery 5, San Jose State University (SJSU), San Jose, CA

                  Beethoven at Home, 5th Floor, Beethoven Center, Martin Luther King Jr. Library, San Jose, CA

                  Beethoven at Home, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2016     Recent Oil Paintings, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2015     Recent Oil Paintings, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Recent Oil Paintings, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Recent Screenprints, Belcher Gallery, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Recent Screenprints, 4th Floor, Martin Luther King Jr. Library, San Jose, CA

     2014     The Medium is the Message: 

                  Truth, Verisimillitude, Illusion & Specificity, Tromp-l’oeil, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, C

                  Three-Dimensional Design Concepts: Toys and Games, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Workshop Toys, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Black Light Miniature Golf Course, Industrial Studies, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2013     Drawing: Self-Portraits, Display Case, SJSU, San Jose, CA

                  Annual “Festival of the Arts,” Valley Christian High School (VCHS), San Jose, CA

                  Open Your Eyes, Valley Christian High School’s Conservatory of the Arts, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2012     Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

                  For His Glory, Valley Christian High School’s Conservatory of the Arts, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2012 -   Present     Valley Christian High School - Art III, The Sketchbook Project, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2012 -   2016         Visual Arts Online Gallery, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2011     Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

                  Through the Lens, Valley Christian High School’s Conservatory of the Arts, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2010     Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

                  Legacy of the Past, Promise of the Future, Art Object Gallery, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2009     Valley Christian High School’s Art Show, VCHS, San Jose, CA

EXPERIENCE

     2017     Curator & Handler, Under Pressure, DeSkaand Gallery, San Jose, CA

                  Curator & Handler, Beethoven at Home, Display Case, San Jose, CA

                  Notetaker, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

     2015     Curator & Handler, Recent Screenprints, Belcher Gallery, San Jose, CA

                  Logo Designer, Heavy Leaf, San Jose, CA                                

     2014     Curator & Handler, Black Light Mini Golf Course, Industrial Studies, San Jose, CA 

                  Notetaker, San Jose State University, San Jose, CA

     2013     Painter & Face Painter, Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2012 -  2013     Visual Arts Representative, Conservatory of the Arts, VCHS, San Jose, CA

                              Secretary, National Art Honors Society, VCHS, San Jose, CA

    2012      T-Shirt Designer, National Art Honors Society, VCHS, San Jose, CA 

                  Painter & Face Painter, Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

                  Prop Maker, Titanic: The Musical, VCHS, San Jose, CA        

                  Titanic Artifact Curator, Titanic: The Musical, VCHS, San Jose, CA

                  Titanic Artifact Docent, Titanic: The Musical, VCHS, San Jose, CA    

                  Scenic Artist, Vivid Dance Company, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2011 -  2013     Art Director, Abolitionist Society, VCHS, San Jose, CA            

     2011    Painter & Face Painter, Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2010 -  2013    Teacher's Assistant, VCHS, San Jose, CA

     2010     Painter & Face Painter, Annual “Festival of the Arts,” VCHS, San Jose, CA    

     2009     Painter, “Taste of Italy,” Valley Christian’s 50th Anniversary Dinner, VCHS, San Jose, CA    

AWARDS

     2017    Robert Griffith Scholarship, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2017    Dean's Scholar, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2016    Dean's Scholar, SJSU, San Jose, CA

     2015    President's Scholar, SJSU, San Jose, CA

ARTIST STATEMENT

It is about capturing the feeling of the moment during reflection rather than forcing images of the past. Some memories are more clear and others obscure no matter the time from past to present. I focus on the intense methodology that precedes the intuitive part of painting. The feelings of memories are captured through the methodical mixing of colors and the multitude of preliminary designs. 

 

With each gesture I make, I create another in reaction to the previous rather than on memory itself. In the same way we reflect on our memories, each time we tend to see it differently and respond. The colored marks flicker like images in your mind and not yet stable. Rough or delicate, large or small, or added or removed marks portray the perception of memories whether they are mundane or monumental, clouded or clear, or sweet or bitter. Colors and marks evolve from the remnants derived from the culmination of process into an exploration of the physical act of painting. 

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