Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Kieu Tran | Episode 942
Kieu Tran was born in Can Tho, Vietnam and is a first generation Vietnamese American artist based in Oakland, California. Kieu creates elegant, sensuous, biomorphic ceramic sculptures that meditate on love, connection and belonging. Her sculptural practice spans across ceramic, wood, marble and bronze. For studies, Kieu obtained a bachelor’s degree in art history from UCLA and studied art while living in Italy and Germany. In 2014, Kieu followed an intriguing pull to Silicon Valley where she learned to code in 2014 and soon after became a full time software engineer. On a parallel path, she also developed a serious ceramic art practice. Immersing in the two practices side-by-side, Kieu eventually realized that she was always meant to be an artist. In January of 2021, Kieu left tech to pursue her passion of becoming a full time artist. Her ceramic sculptures have since been received with excitement and she has cultivated a growing following of enthusiastic collectors worldwide.
SPONSORS
You can help support the show!
GRPotteryForms.com
Number 1 brand in America for a reason. Skutt.com
For all your ceramic needs go to Georgies.com
Do you name your pieces?
I do, but after.
What is the determining factor what a piece is going to be named? You spend so much time intentionally drawing them, why do you wait to name them?
I wait until the absolutely last minute usually and it usually has to do with what I think the whole body of work is trying to say. And then I will keep a log of names and sort of phrases that popped up in my mind and I will keep those in a little note and then come back to it later and then see which name resonates with which piece.
Do you name even the series afterwards?
Yes. I don’t usually name the series because all of my work seems to be the same sculptural stuff but there’s usually themes that go with each body of work that I release which then informs the photoshoot that I have and the messaging around the body of work that I have and how I choose to communicate it to potential collectors and to the wider art people.
How did you go about setting up your solo show? How did that come about?
The first solo show I had was because I had a residency at a local space and that culminated in a solo show. The recent solo show that I had is with a gallery that represents me. So that’s how I got the opportunity.
Do you ever take on commissions? People asking you to make specific series?
I have taken on one commission and it was a special request because I don’t like doing them, to be honest. I don’t like to remake work and typically that’s what the requests are like. There are artists that do commissions that have specific sort of requirements with what they are okay with doing and you can do that but I have just been lucky enough to make work that people are interested in afterwards. And that’s what I want to keep doing. To be able to make things that are authentic to how I am feeling and then selling them afterward.
How important is branding for an artist?
I think it’s extremely important and that’s why I put so much effort into expressing myself and crafting these stories, to communicate with my followers and collectors. I think having a strong brand allows your work to be recognizable and also builds trust and recognition.
Book
Art/Work by Heather Darcy Bhandari
Contact
Instagram: @studiokieu