Tuan Vu
Born in Vietnam, Tuan Vu came to Canada at eight as a child refugee. He now lives in Montreal and taught himself to paint from YouTube and art books. The women in his paintings are his sisters, his mother and the women of Vietnam. He wants them to be safe, so he places them in lush tropical landscapes. Vu always starts with a tree and makes up the rest. For him, beauty is "an act of rebellion." This fall he is spending three months on a residency in Hanoi, where he is learning traditional silk painting. Next year he has solo shows in Los Angeles, New York and London.
Q: You're self-taught. What did you have to work out on your own?
A: I learn from YouTube and read a ton of art books.
Q: You arrived in Canada from Vietnam at eight, as a child refugee. How much of that is in the paintings?
A: Nothing left. Never interested in politics or wars.
Q: Tell us about the women in your paintings.
A: All these women are my sisters, my mum, and all the women of Vietnam. I put them in a safe place in my paintings. During wartime, these women repaired what my men had broken. I want them to be safe in a luxurious landscape.
Q: You build your pictures flat, the way Japanese woodblock prints do. Why that space?
A: It's all about colors and forms. The composition starts with a tree, then I paint from imagination; nothing is real, not even a flower.
There is no real dimension in my paintings. Although I create some sort of distance so we can escape into the landscape.
Q: You've said beauty is out of fashion, but you paint it anyway. Why does that matter to you now?
A: Beauty always matters! We need beauty to believe in hope. Beauty brings harmony and peace. In general, contemporary art thinks beauty is out of fashion. For me, beauty is beyond transcendental; it is an act of rebellion.
Q: Your show at Patel Brown in Toronto runs until October, and then you're off to Hanoi for three months. What are you hoping to find there?
A: I will be back in my country for so long. Finding my source and connecting with myself. Also, I will learn silk painting, a traditional skill in Vietnam.
