{"id":500,"date":"2010-05-04T11:46:08","date_gmt":"2010-05-04T17:46:08","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15bytes12\/2010\/05\/04\/van-chu\/"},"modified":"2025-11-04T19:58:00","modified_gmt":"2025-11-05T02:58:00","slug":"van-chu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/van-chu\/","title":{"rendered":"Van Chu"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\"Utah<\/a><\/p>\n

Van Chu at The Gallery at Library Square. Photo by Zoe Rodriguez.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

It would be a disservice to Van Chu to spend the majority of this article discussing the unfortunate pairing of his work with photographs by Carl Oelerich, so the criticism will be brief. Chu\u2019s latest exhibit,\u00a0Photographic Brushstroke<\/em>, shares gallery space with photographs by Carl Oelerich, who displays candid narrative pictures exploring America\u2019s tense relationship with modern day Cuba. Both Chu and Oelerich have black and white pictures on display, they have clearly drawn influence from abroad, and both artists convey a powerful message. Do these similarities warrant shared exhibit space? Absolutely not. The stark contrast between the ethereal and personal nature of Chu\u2019s work and Oelerich\u2019s politically charged photographs is jarring and detracts from the work of both artists.<\/p>\n

In spite of the misguided arrangement, it\u2019s difficult not to be swept away by Chu\u2019s work.<\/p>\n

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\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cPart of Self Series II,\u201d by Van Chu. 80\u2033 x 24,\u201d 2009.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In person Chu is gracious, poised, and carries himself in a way that is endearingly awkward but self assured. When the subject turns to his art, Chu\u2019s demeanor changes to that of an enthusiastic child who can\u2019t wait to share his secrets. He makes sweeping gestures with his hands, a warm smile dominates his face, and most striking is the joy in his eyes, which conveys an obvious passion for his work. He firmly believes that an image can transform something ordinary into something extraordinary.
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\n<\/a><\/p>\n

Chu\u2019s creative technique of photographing pigment in water has created quite a buzz in the arts community, but he remains grounded and focused on pushing the boundaries of his work. The first public display of his new work was at Artists of Utah\u2019s 35 x 35 exhibition, in the fall of 2009. Among the more than seventy pieces exhibited, his \u201cPart of Self Series #2\u201d\u00a0attracted a good deal of attention and sold on opening night. Then earlier this year his \u201cDragon #2\u201d won First Place at the Central Utah Art Center\u2019s Utah Ties show, juried by Tim Hawkinson.<\/p>\n

In his work Chu says he wants to get away from photography\u2019s foundational role of documentation. He says the process of sitting behind a camera and capturing doesn\u2019t have enough of \u201cthe self\u201d in it. \u201cWhat I really want to do is create instead of capture.\u201d<\/p>\n

His latest incarnation, \u201cPhotographic Brushstroke,\u201d takes the viewer on a journey that is an intimate look at the evolution of Chu as an artist. At the entrance to the exhibit are three of his earlier pieces from the collection, one that he began working on in 2008. Of all the pieces in the exhibit these initial three are the most reminiscent of traditional Chinese paintings in their symmetry and deceptively simple lines. Each one shares a common element, a small unassuming tree that complements its surroundings but sometimes appears dwarfed by the world it inhabits.\u00a0Chu explains that this is a reflection of the isolation he felt when he first moved from Vietnam to the United States in 2001.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cWater,\u201d<\/a>
\n\u201cWater,\u201d 38\u2033 x 16\u2033 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\u201cLand,\u201d<\/a>
\n\u201cLand,\u201d 38\u2033 x 16\u2033 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

He left a close-knit group of supportive friends to come to America to pursue his education. It took some time but he became adjusted to his new surroundings, and this transition is expressed in his work through the small tree, which does not appear in the rest of Chu\u2019s exhibit: he moved past his sense of isolation. The viewer travels with him as Chu settles into his environment and enters the main gallery where the full expression of Chu\u2019s technique can be found.<\/p>\n

Chu began college as a computer science major. When he began studying photography he did not purposely set about to incorporate the Chinese-inspired paintings that surrounded him in his native Vietnam. \u201cAt first I didn\u2019t really know what my influence was,\u201d he says, but as this new body of work started to develop \u201c it started looking very familiar and it became very clear . . . that the Asian part of me is really coming out. It\u2019s projecting on every piece of photography I do.\u201d<\/p>\n

His minimalist style echoes an elegance that is unique to traditional Chinese paintings. Chu explains that the ancient art form does not illustrate something in detail but instead captures the essence of what is being depicted. In his exhibit Chu hopes to bring something new to the form. There is a seemingly calculated symmetry to it, and a balance that lets the eye wander comfortably over the image. This is a testament to Chu\u2019s skill as an artist because it\u2019s difficult to imagine how one achieves a look of concise, purposeful strokes with ink in water even though he only impacts the ink by blowing on it.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cDragon,\u201d<\/a>
\n\u201cDragon,\u201d 80\u2033 x 24\u2033, 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cChinese painting has remained the same for many hundreds of years. I want to modernize it, to make it exciting again,\u201d Chu explains.<\/p>\n

Chu succeeds in this effort. It\u2019s tempting to initially see his work as simple images, but look closer. There are dark veins of ink bleeding in to water and fading as they become diluted. Then only small tendrils are left on the outskirts and those eventually disappear entirely. It\u2019s a bit like looking at an aerial view of a canyon with smaller rivers playing on the periphery. In reality it is several photographs layered on top of one another or laid side by side, through a painstakingly long process.<\/p>\n

In one case Chu spent almost a full week taking 1,000 photographs per day to produce a layered image titled, \u201cDragon.\u201d\u00a0It\u2019s a large intricate photograph where, like with most of his work, Chu relied on the pigment to provide the inspiration. He dropped the ink in water and waited.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn every photograph there is a key moment that defines the rest of the work,\u201d Chu said.<\/p>\n

\"\u201cTrees<\/a>
\n\u201cTrees and Mushrooms,\u201d 160\u2033 x 24,\u201d 2009.<\/span><\/p>\n

After the defining moment he goes through each photograph and chooses which one to use, the one that will express his inspiration. Chu said the ink is in control while he observes with a camera, but he reclaims the control by compiling the images into a greater whole. His most recent piece, \u201cTrees and Mushrooms,\u201d is also a number of photographs arranged to create one image.\u00a0In the exhibit it dominates an entire wall, and with good reason. There is an enormous amount of philosophy and tradition that motivates Chu and it\u2019s shown with great vitality in this image.<\/p>\n

Plumes of smoke rise into the air, an apocalyptic image but a beautiful one. For this piece Chu found inspiration in the Ying Yang symbol, its polarity, male and female, the balance of cause and effect. The piece contains what looks like smoke signals or a mushroom cloud caused by an apocalyptic bomb. As Chu explains, the mushroom cloud is a symbol of destruction, balanced with the tree, a symbol of life.<\/p>\n

As Chu completes his MFA at the University of Utah this year he says he has not thought too much about the future, preferring to concentrateon \u201cdefining the language I\u2019m speaking.\u201d More than anything Chu wants people to understand his medium and realize \u201cthe extension of the boundary of photography.\u201d This hope is realized through the images in his latest exhibit.<\/p>\n

Fortunately for us we will be seeing more of Chu. He acknowledges that this is the first of many shows he hopes to participate in.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just barely got into the art scene; I have a long way to go. And I will keep going.\u201d
\n\"Artist<\/a><\/p>\n

Photo by Zoe Rodriguez.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Photographic Brushstroke<\/span><\/em>\u00a0is at The Gallery at Library Square (SLC Main Library) through May 21st. For more information on Van Chu\u2019s art visit:\u00a0www.vanchuart.com.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Van Chu at The Gallery at Library Square. Photo by Zoe Rodriguez. It would be a disservice to Van Chu to spend the majority of this article discussing the unfortunate pairing of his work with photographs by Carl Oelerich, so the criticism will be brief. Chu\u2019s latest exhibit,\u00a0Photographic […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1533,"featured_media":1004,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_piecal_is_event":false,"_piecal_start_date":"","_piecal_end_date":"","_piecal_is_allday":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17,14],"tags":[363],"class_list":["post-500","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-artist_profiles","category-visual_arts","tag-van-chu"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/02\/vc.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-20 11:38:08","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1533"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=500"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":97793,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/500\/revisions\/97793"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=500"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=500"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/artistsofutah.org\/15Bytes\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=500"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}