About Binh Pho Born 1955, Saigon, Vietnam – Present, Chicago, Illinois
Artist’s Statement
On April 30, 1975 the war ended in Vietnam. It made a dramatic turn in my life. I was in my sophomore year of college, dreaming to become an Architect one day but the “Red Peace” ended that. At that time there were only two schools. One taught Communism, the other was a Re-education Camp.
I refused to accept the reality of Communism. Six months later I attempted my first escape to find freedom, but instead I ended up in a Re-education Camp. I spent one year in there, to supposedly get my brain-washed, then they let me back in the city.
Finally my day had come… On September 29, 1978 I and my 38 companions reached the Freedom Soil after seven days on the small boat floating across the Gulf of Siam to Malaysia. Due to vast numbers of refugees at that time, I spent eight months in a Refugee Camp located on a deserted island outside of Kuala Lumpur.
The date was May 7, 1979 when I was re-united with my family in St. Louis, Missouri after four of the longest years of my life. Now I reside in Maple Park, Illinois, a western suburb of Chicago, where I designed and built a 1,500 square-foot studio next to the house.
What do I do? I put a soul into every piece I create. I don’t make objects; I create characters. If the viewers can pick up on that soul, I’ve accomplished it. Creating figurative and abstract imagery on delicately pierced wood vessels opens the doors for me to share my life and interests. There was a period of time that I looked through the window and asked myself the question,”What is it like on the other side of that window?” I then just let my imagination go.
From a heavy lot of timber to a light, thin vessel, negative spaces interlock with solid surface. The color, grain and natural look of the wood all reflect the principle of Yin and Yang. My work comes from memories, culture, Zen mind and my own thoughts. Negative spaces inspire me, as they represent the unseen weight of the unknown, which I use to take the viewers into my work.
My life and work is always concerned with moving beyond boundaries – from escaping the Communists in Vietnam following the Fall of Saigon for a new life in the United States, to expanding the language of woodturning and exploring expansive media and processes. All of the work I have created and exhibited over the last decade has been narrative and conceptual, in some cases it is autobiographical and in others fictional, as is the case with Shadow of The Turning, the exhibition that recently toured museums across the country. I love to combine the beauty of nature, craft traditions and the language of art to imbue each of my works with a soul and a life that goes beyond my initial ideas and expands with the experiences and imagination of the viewer.
Selected Collections
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
Bellevue Arts Museum, Bellevue, WA
Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburg, PA
Center of Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA
Cincinnati Art Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Detroit Institute of Art, Detroit, MI
FIGGE Museum of Art, Davenport, IA
Franklin G. Burrough – Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum, Myrtle Beach, SC
Fuller Craft Art Museum, Brockton, MA
Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis, MN
Mint Museum of Craft and Design, Charlotte, NC
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Musee Art du Bois, Breville, France
Museum of Arts and Design, New York, NY
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, MA
Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
The White House Collection of American Crafts, Washington, DC
Woodturning Center, Philadelphia, PA
Zimmer Children’s Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Publications
2013 Shadow of The Turning: Wallace, Kevin. Fine Art Press
2008 New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art. Martin, Terry & Wallace, Kevin. Fox Chapel Publishing, East Petersburg, PA.
2006 River of Destiny: The Life and Work of Binh Pho. Wallace, Kevin. Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA.
2004 Nature Transformed: Wood Art from The Bohlen Collection. Ulmer, Sean. Hudson Hills Press, Manchester, VT.
500 Wood Bowls: Bold & Original Designs Blending Tradition & Innovation. Leier, Ray; Peters, Kevin. Lark Books, Sterling Publications, New York, NY.
Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions. Wallace, Kevin. Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA.
Beneath The Bark: Twenty-Five Years of Woodturning. Christensen, Kip & Nish, Dale. Utah Woodturning Symposium, Inc, Provo, UT.
2003 Wood Art Today: Furniture, Vessels, Sculpture. Meilach, Dona. Schiffer Publications, Westchester, PA.
World & I Magazine. Volume 18, Number 6. Opposite Attraction. Henkin, Stephen. pp 80-87.
Craft Arts International. Issue 59. Tao of Life and Art. Wallace, Kevin. Pp 27-33.
Geometry of the Golden Section. Vincent, Robert. Chalagam Publishing, Marseille, France.
2001 Challenge VI- Roots: Insights & Inspirations In Contemporary Turned Objects. Holzapfel, Michelle; Rice, Robin & Tyler, Christopher. Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA.
Selected Exhibitions
2013
Shadow of the Turning, Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL (traveling)
The Center for Art in Wood, Philadelphia, PA
Fuller Craft Museum, Brockton, MA
Franklin G. Burroughs-Simeon B. Chapin Art Museum of Myrtle Beach, Myrtle Beach, SC
2011
Pi to Pentagon: Collaborations with Harvey Fein
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Turned Wood – Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2010-11
Turned & Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001-11
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, Chicago, IL
2010
Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition WEST, Santa Fe, NM
2009-10 Flora & Fauna, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001-10
Turned Wood-Small Treasures, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2003-09
Selected Works, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2001-09 Sculpture Objects & Functional Art Exposition, New York, NY
2008
A Perfect Marriage: Wood & Color, CWA Exhibit, SOFA, Chicago, IL
Le Temps d’un Rêve, Solo Exhibition, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Scottsdale, AZ
The Sphere, AAW Symposium, Richmond, VA; AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
2007
Japanese Bowls: A Western Perspective, AAW Symposium, Portland, OR; AAW Gallery of Wood Art, St. Paul, MN
2001-07
Turned and Sculptured Wood, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2006
River of Destiny: The Life and Work of Binh Pho, Long Beach Museum Of Art, Long Beach, CA
Our Turn Now: Artists Speak Out in Wood, Ohio Craft Museum, Columbus, OH
2004-06
Nature Transformed: Wood Art from the Bohlen Collection, Touring
University of Michigan Museum of Art, Ann Arbor, MI
Mobile Museum of Art, Mobile, AL
Museum of Arts & Design, New York, NY
2005
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Philadelphia, PA
One of a Kind Exhibition, John Michael Kohler Art Center, Sheboygan, WI
2004
Hot Tea!, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Celebrating Nature: Craft Traditions/Contemporary Expressions, Craft & Folk Art Museum, Los Angeles, CA
Beneath The Bark: 25 Years of Woodturning, Brigham Young University Museum of Art, Provo, UT
2003
Journees Mondiales: Tournage d’Art Sur Bois, Exhibitor and Lecturer, Puy St. Martin, France
Homeland Exhibition: Artists, Immigration and Identity, Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, Houston, TX
Put A Lid On It: Containing Human Experience, AAW Symposium, Brand Library Art Galleries, Glendale, CA
Into the Woods, Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
Solo Exhibition, del Mano Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Santa Fe, NM
2002-03
Lecturer, Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2001-03
Challenge VI- Roots: Insights & Inspirations in Contemporary Turned Objects, Touring
Philip & Muriel Berman Museum of Art, Collegeville, PA
Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN
Washington State University Museum of Art, Pullman, WA
Arkansas Arts Center, Little Rock, AR
Leigh Yawkey Woodson Art Museum, Wausau, WI
The Schneider Museum of Art, Ashland, OR
2002
Branching Out: Contemporary Woodturning in 2002, Ellipse Art Center, Arlington, VA
2001-02
Nature Takes a Turn, International Juried Exhibition,
Minnesota Museum of American Art, St. Paul, MN
University of California, Davis, CA
University of New York, Purchase, NY
Arrowmont School of Arts & Crafts, Gatlinburg, TN
2001
Against the Grain: Turned & Sculpted Wood, International Museum of Art & Science, McAllen, TX
Collectors of Wood Art Forum, Minneapolis, MN Bi-State
Biennial Exhibition, Davenport Museum of Art, Davenport, IA
