Trung Pham
Associate Professor
Department of Art, Art History, and Design
Seattle University, WA
924 E Cherry Street
Seattle, WA 98122
206-220-8243
BIO
Trung Pham is a Vietnamese-born, Seattle-based artist and educator. He received a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA. Soon after graduation, he joined the Jesuit order and pursued a career in the arts, earning an MFA in drawing and painting at the Pratt Institute in New York, NY. He received his MDiv and STL in Theological Aesthetics from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, CA. Pham’s immigrant experience and religious devotion have profoundly influenced his artistic practice. His works explore spiritual depth that is an antidote to vulgarity and violence, standing in high contrast with nihilism and secularism, revolting against homogenous culture and prejudiced values. He has been awarded residencies at Fuller Theological Institute, WA, Grunewald Guild, WA, and St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India. Fr. Pham is an ordained Jesuit priest, currently a member of the advisory committee of George Tsutakawa Art Gallery at the Wing Luke Museum, Seattle, WA, and an associate professor in the Art, Art History and Design Department at Seattle University.
Commissioned works include the Saint Clare bronze statue at Santa Clara University, CA and The bronze Crucifix at St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA.
EDUCATION
2006 Master of Fine Arts, Drawing/Painting, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Master of Divinity and Licentiate of Sacred Theology, Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Santa Clara University, CA
2000 Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, CA
SOLO EXIBITIONS
2017 • “Vessels of Life,” Chaya Gallery, Bangalore, India
• “Cracking Power,” Tobya Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
2016 • “Rupture Wonder,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
2014 • “Loi Ru,” Catholic Center, Vietnam
• “Crack,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
2013 • “Mother,” Asian Pacific Heritage Gallery, Seattle, WA
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2018 • “Tiny but Mighty,” D’Art Center, Norfolk, VA
• “Anniversary Exhibition,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
2017 • “Many Lands,” Bridge Productions Gallery, Seattle, WA
• “Rise | Overcoming Tragedy & Trauma,” Core Gallery, Seattle, WA
• “Stitching Rupture,” M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery, Seattle Central College, WA
2016 • “Triangulation,” Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA
• “Jesuit Spirit in the Arts,” University Gallery, Saint Joseph University, PA
• “Encyclical,” Encyclical Gallery, Berkeley, CA
2015 • “On Capturing Transient Bodies,” Artwest Gallery, Seattle, WA
• “Healing Through Art: A Collaborative Exhibition,” Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ
• “Faculty Show,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, WA
• “2015 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA
2014 • “Interactive,” VALA Art Center, Redmond Town Center, Redmond, WA
• “2014 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA
2013 • “The Seattle Sketchbook Show,” Gage Academy, Seattle, WA
• “Spiritual Practice: Meditation on Faith,” Manresa Gallery, University of San Francisco, CA
• “Creation,” St. James Cathedral Chapel, Seattle, WA
• “2013 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA
2012 • “Faculty Show,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, WA
AWARDS/SCHOLARSHIP
2015 • The People’s Choice Award, “Chair 1,” White River Valley Museum, WA
2001 • Grace and Walter Byron Smith Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago
GRANTS
2015 • The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture Faculty Research Grants, Seattle University, WA
• "Featured Artist," Community Art Project, Redmond Arts Festival, WA
2014 • The Endowed Mission Fund for Advancing the Jesuit and Catholic Mission, Seattle University, WA
RESIDENCIES
2017 • St. Joseph's College, Bangalore, India
2016 • Grunewald Guild, Leavenworth, WA
2015 • Fuller Theological Institute, Seattle, WA
COMMISSIONS
2021 • “Crucifix,” 4.5 feet x 4.5 feet x 1foot, bronze sculpture, Saint James Cathedral, Seattle, WA
2014 • “Crucifix,” 2 feet x 2 feet x .5 foot, bronze sculpture, The Chapel of Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle, WA
2008 • “Saint Clare,” 6 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet, bronze sculpture, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA
CURATION
2016-18 • “Search for Meaning Art Exhibition,” Seattle University, WA
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
2012-Current • Associate Professor, Art and Art History Department, Seattle University, WA
2006-08 • Lecturer, Art and Art History Department, Santa Clara University, CA
LECTURES / PRESENTATIONS / TALKS
2017 • “Rupture Wonder,” Making Now 2017 Biennial Conference, Azusa Pacific University, CA
2016 • “Postmodern Icons? The Catholic Imagination in the Visual Arts Today,” Seattle University, WA
2015 • “The Ultimate Meaning of Extreme Beauty,” Ultimate Reality and Meaning Biennial 2015, University of Toronto, Canada
• “What’s New in the Arts?” The Alumni Seminar Series Spring 2015, Seattle University, WA
• “Extreme Beauty: Experiencing God Through Art,” Crossroad Lecture Series, Portland, OR
2014 • (trans)FORMATION Worship Conference, “Transforming Beauty,” The Arts and The Renewal of Christian Imagination, Fuller College, Seattle, WA
2013 • Colleagues in Jesuit Education, An Approach to Visual Art at Seattle University, “Extreme Beauty,” Seattle, WA
• The International Conference of social Theory, Politics and the Arts (STP&A Conference), “Original Artwork in the Digital Era,” Seattle, WA
• Artist’s Discussion: “Spiritual Practice: Meditations on Faith,” University of San Francisco, CA
PUBLICATION
• “The Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle University: A Gathering of Different Lights,” Sculpture Review, Winter 13 vol. LXII No.4, 2014
WORKS IN EXHIBITION CATALOGUES
• “Rupture Wonder: Paintings by Trung Pham,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
• “Spiritual Practices: Meditations on Faith, The Manresa Gallery,” San Francisco, CA
• “Creation, An Exhibit in the Cathedral Chapel,” April-June 2013, St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA
BIBLIOGRAPHY / PRESS
• Fugile, Gordon L., “Ways of Proceeding, The Artistry of Three Contemporary Jesuits,” Image, Winter 2017 Number 95
• Fernandes, Sandra. "Everyday Objects Come to Life in Soap Carvings," Bangalore Times, July 17, 2017
• Klaas, Mark. “Priest, Teacher and Artist Shape Winning Entry,” Auburn-Reporter, Dec 17, 2015
• Hanvey, James. “The Re-Composition of Place: Theological Reflections on Spiritual Practices,” News of University of San Francisco, February 14, 2013
COMMUNITY SERVICE / VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE
2016-Present • Advisory Committee, Tsutakawa Art Gallery, Wing Luke Museum, WA
2016-Present • Community Advisory Committees, Little Saigon Crosswalks and Little Saigon Pocket Park projects, Seattle, WA
2015-2018 • Regional Chaplain of Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement in the Northwest Region of USA