Loc Huynh
Loc Huynh (b. 1992, Austin, TX) graduated with a BFA from Texas State University in 2016 and an MFA from the University of North Texas in 2020. Huynh has held solo exhibitions at the Museum of the Southwest (Midland, TX), Martha’s Contemporary (Austin, TX), Inman Gallery (Houston, TX), and New Release Gallery (New York). Select group exhibitions include presentations at the Orlando Museum of Art, Zona Maco (Mexico City) with Rusha & Co. (Los Angeles), Stiltsville (Miami) with Half Gallery (New York), Hashimoto Contemporary (Los Angeles), and the Brooklyn Academy of Music, among others. His work has been featured in New American Paintings, Juxtapoz, Dallas Morning News, and Southwest Contemporary, as well as other publications. Huynh has also participated in the Vermont Studio Center Residency (Johnson, VT), the Wassaic Project (Wassaic, NY), and was part of the Lawndale Artist Studio Program (Houston). He currently lives and works in Houston, TX.
Artist Statement
Through painting, I use materiality to reaffirm the material world and my presence in it. My aesthetics are informed by my interest in graphic languages and the history of painting. I adopt elements from various visual cultures.
The visual vocabulary I use is idiosyncratic, but it also serves as evidence of my biography. Growing up in a Vietnamese-American household in Texas, I was exposed to imagery associated with both Vietnamese/Chinese and American culture. To me, red envelopes and paper lanterns sit comfortably in the same hierarchy as other assorted American kitsch. I embrace the tropes of both cultures in my work to give them an opportunity to create new stories with familiar languages. By borrowing aspects of widely disseminated images, I create accessibility for the viewer. This nuanced hybridization is emblematic of my identity, which reinvents, or at least calls into question, expectations associated with Eastern and Western cultures.
www.lochuynhart.com
How has the environment you grew up in affected your art practice?
Being a Vietnamese-American from Texas and growing up around the metal/hardcore scene exposed me to a variety of visual languages that have profoundly influenced my work. Everything from cowboy kitsch to Vietnamese folk art and graphic band tees has been an essential part of my artistic development.
If your artwork was a mirror, what would it reflect?
My art is a reflection of the multiple intersections that I exist in. It’s a fusion of the various identities that I am a part of, but it also serves to create an entirely new one.
What is the most difficult part (or your least favorite part) of your process?
Waiting for the paint to dry. I often describe myself as an impatient painter, which is why I mostly use acrylic and enamel-based paints. I also speed up the dry time of my paintings with the assistance of a heat gun.
Pursuing ‘artist’ as a career is not for the faint of heart. What is the most rewarding aspect of this pursuit?
Being able to share my art with those who connect with it on multiple levels. I also love meeting other artists whose work I admire and respect.
If your art is in a lineage of artists working within similar veins, who would be part of your lineage and why?
Roger Shimomura, because he is a pop artist who makes work about the third cultural space that Asian-Americans inhabit, and I think his contribution to the art world cannot be understated. I’d also say Nina Chanel Abney has been really influential to me; I appreciate the way she explores complex themes with a playful language. Peter Saul is someone else whose work has had a huge impact on me, ever since my college days, and he continues to be one of my favorite artists.
