Vo Tran Chau
Born 1986 in Binh Thuan, Vietnam.
Lives and works in Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
Email: tranchauvo86@gmail.com
Website: www.votranchau.com
Born to a family of traditional embroiderers, she understands the languages of threads and fabrics, and chooses textile, particularly found fabrics and second-hand clothing, as materials for her artistic practice. When Vo uses used fabrics in her work, the provenance of the fabrics is the matter and strongly connected to the subject that she addresses. By deploying these materials which retain personal history, Vo portrays how strongly personal history reflects on the grand historical narrative of nation states and society.
Education:
2011: Graduated from Ho Chi Minh Fine Art University, Vietnam
Selected solo exhibitions:
2020:
“Leaf Picking in the Ancient Forest”, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
2019:
“Let Clouds Fly Away”, Culture Space Yang, Jeju, Korea
2017:
“Lingering at the Peculiar Pavilion”, Manzi Art Space, Hanoi, Vietnam;
Traveled to Salon Saigon, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
Group exhibitions:
2023:
“Vietnam in Transition, 1976-Present”, Wende Museum, Culver city, CA, USA
“V.I.E…”, A2Z Art Gallery, Paris, France
2022:
“Art Collaboration Kyoto”, Kyoto, Japan
“Dept. of Speculation”, Galerie Quynh, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
2020:
“Dreaming about Landscapes”, Mo Art Space, Hanoi, Vietnam
“Extended Realities”, Manzi Art Space, Hanoi, Vietnam
“Lunar Breccia”, Galerie Quynh, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
2019:
“Where The Sea Remembers”, The Mistake Room, Los Angeles, CA, USA
“Unfolding: Fabric of Our Life”, Centre for Heritage, Art & Textile (CHAT)/MILL6, Hong Kong
2018:
“Bodies Survey(ed)”, San-art, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
2017:
“The Foliage”, Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA), Ha Noi, Vietnam
2016:
“Suzhou Documents: Histories of a Global Hub”, Suzhou Art Museum, Suzhou, China
“Still (the) Barbarians”, EVA International: Ireland’s Biennial of Contemporary Art, Limerick, Ireland
2015:
“Tracing”, San Art, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
“March: Art walk”, Sao La, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
“Black Fog”, Nha San Collective, Hanoi, Vietnam
2014:
“Petit and Smooth”, Nha San Studio, Hanoi, Vietnam
2011:
“Born from the land”, San Art, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
2010:
“My sister”, San Art, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam
“Bolero”, Zero Station, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam.
Grants and Residencies:
2019:
Culture Space Yang, Jeju-do, Korea
2015:
San-art Laboratory, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2011:
Danish Vietnamese Cultural Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF IWC replica) for “Born from the Land”
Selected Bibliography:
2023:
Vuong An Nguyen, “Ký ức Đông Dương viễn mơ và những cuộc ảo hoá”, Elle Decoration, Spring 2023
2022:
“Chau Vo Tran Galerie Quynh”, international-galleries-alliance.org, December 2022
2020:
“Nghệ sĩ Võ Trân Châu: Sáng tác nghệ thuật từ chất liệu vải”, Vui sống mỗi ngày, VTV3, June 2020
“Nhặt Lá Rừng Xưa-Bảo vệ môi trường bằng nghệ thuật mosaic”, Netviet Story, VTC10, June 2020
Van Bay, “Hoạ sĩ Võ Trân Châu và triển lãm “khủng” từ…quần áo cũ”, thethaovanhoa.vn, June 2020
Doan Truc, “Võ Trân Châu bảo vệ môi trường bằng nghệ thuật”, elle.vn, April 2020
Thanh Vinh, “Những chiếc lá có nhiều câu chuyện kể…”, Nhân Dân cuối tuần newspaper, April 2020
Hà Bi, “Võ Tran Chau: Mỗi tấm vải đã qua sử dụng đều mang một câu chuyện”, hanoigrapevine.com, March 2020
Mai Thuy, “Ân tình với những điều quí giá bị đánh mất”, Tuoi Tre newspaper, February 2020
An Vu, “Làm nghệ thuật từ sự chân thật”, Tinh Hoa Việt newspaper, February 2020
Nhuan Dong, “An Artist’s Role in Debate at Vo Tran Chau’s Solo Exhibition on Heritage”, saigoneer.com
2019:
Karine Monié, “Vietnamese Contemporary Art Arrives in Lost Angeles,” designanthologymag.com
Viet Quynh, “Nghệ sỹ Võ Trân Châu: Kể các câu chuyện lịch sử theo cách riêng”, Dai Doan Ket newspaper, December 2019
2018:
Damon Francois, “La symbolique dans l’art vietnamien contemporain,” Libres d’écrire
2017:
“Contemporary Art of Vietnam – A Private Collection,” catalogue, Salon Saigon
Thien Di, “Neo lại kỳ lâu, góc nhìn xoáy vào truyền thống giả hiệu,” Elle Man, April 2017
“Artist-portfolio: Thả trôi mình với đường kim mũi chỉ,” Barcode Magazine, August 2017
Ngo Ha, “Nghệ sĩ thị giác Võ Trân Châu – Nghệ thuật soi mình vào quá khứ,” Elle Vietnam, April 2017
Mai Anh, “Nghệ sỹ Võ Trân Châu: Những góc nhìn khắc khoải về phận người,” An Ninh Thu Do, March 2017
2016:
“Catalogue of “Still (the) Barbarians,” exhibition catalogue, EVA International Ireland’s Biennial, Limerick, Ireland
Eastham Ben, “Koyo Kouoh’s Ambitious EVA International Bridges the Gap between Europe and Africa,” Artsy.net, April 2016
2012:
Nguyen Dinh, “Võ Thị Trân Châu – Cô gái phá cách,” Sai Gon Tiep Thi, March 2012
Collections:
Sherman Contemporary Art Foundation, Sydney, Australia
Salon Saigon, Ho Chi Minh city, Vietnam