Thu Kim Vu: Journey with Line

McKinney International Artist-in-Residence Thu Vu works at the intersection of calligraphy and light sculpture. The artist, who is based in Hanoi, Viet Nam and inspired by her wide travels, uses Vietnamese Zo paper, Japanese Washi paper, Chinese ink brush, and LED light to explore and modify temporary spaces.

Vu combines the imaginative concept of the city with meticulous craftsmanship using traditional materials. “My work reflects the relationship between myself and the surrounding environment,” she writes, “and that relationship is always changed through moving, traveling, encountering new cultures, and being fascinated by architectural forms of different local landscapes.”  

Vu has been using paper as the medium for my work since 2006 for the practical reason that its flexibility allows her to create something in miniature, yet at the same time to build up big projects of scale and change the idea of spaces. In her travels, she has found that paper is not only available everywhere but is used differently in each culture. At the same time, her residencies in Japan have inspired her experiments in the art of lighting, using paper lanterns and light sculptures.

More about the artist

Vu has participated in numerous residencies worldwide that have shaped her work. In 2008, Vu participated in a residency program at Vermont Studio Center and New York Mills Regional Cultural Center in Minnesota. Expanding to doodle drawing and combining with different paper construction settings dealing with the emotional, mental, and physical aspects of using lines, brushstroke became a method of meditation.

In 2009, Vu came to Goyang National Art studio, Korea and discovered a new dimension in her work experimenting with Korean traditional Hanji paper and expanding her brushstroke into an enormous scale larger than herself, creating spontaneous movement. In late 2010, Vu started a new exhibition at Kuenstlerdorf Schoeppingen in Germany, opening new ideas on de-forming the construction of spaces. Vu has participated in residencies at the McColl Center of Visual Art (North Carolina) (2011), Rockefeller Bellagio Center (Italy) (2011), Museum of Contemporary Art in La Coruna (Spain) (2013), and the Sylt Foundation in Johannesburg, South Africa (2016) where she continued her idea of an imaginative city through drawing.  

In recent years, Vu has been interested in Japanese culture. Her studies of Washi paper have led to new experimentation with paper sculpture and lighting based on her experience in four residencies in Japan: Kamiyama Artists in Residence Program, Mino Paper Art Village, Sapporo Artist-in-Residence Program, and Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.  

Thu Kim Vu earned her B.F.A. from Hanoi University of Fine Arts, Vietnam and her M.F.A. from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago.