Julia Trinh
Julia L Trinh was born in Laos, grew up in Taiwan and immigrated to the United States with her family in 1980. She completed her BFA in Drawing and Painting at the University of North Texas, College of Visual Arts and Design in 2008. Her art has been exhibited in various exhibitions including juried national, state and local shows. Notable jurors include artist Melissa Miller, curator Gavin Morrison, Ryder Richards, Laura Green, artist/professor Vincent Falsetta and artist/curator Iris Bechtol. Julia’s artwork has received honors and awards including: 1st Place Award, “Plano Art Association 2010 Annual 125 Juried Show” and was recognized twice as the Artist of the Month in Plano, Texas where she currently lives. Her work was also selected for a solo show at the University of North Texas in 2011.
In her recent work, Joy Element and Gray Melody, Julia attempts to approach her work with both a sense of playfulness and deliberation. She tries to bring beauty and relevance to outdated magazines and phone books by recycling and reinventing them. She hopes that the work will help inspire the audience to join her in finding creative alternative ways to reconstruct, re-purpose or recycle unused outdated items.
Artist Statement
Nature has always been my muse, though most of my works are in abstract form. My work explores texture and its relationship between organic form and geometric line and shape. Although the geometric configuration of the lines and planes require careful calculation, the plasticity of the working process allows me to often work on it intuitively.
I try to bring beauty and relevance to found used materials, such as outdated phone books and magazines, by recycling and reinventing them. I became fascinated with cutting the pages in various patterns, layering and rearranging them into new shapes and forms. As the meticulous repetitive patterns accumulated through several layers, the artwork became visually engaging and conceptually the element of transformation became important.
Adding beeswax into some of my recent work has become fascinating to me. I use wax for layering found objects such as string, bark, fabric and paper. I appreciate how layers of wax can be sculpted, scraped and gouged. Gouging down to reveal what is below creates an opportunity for the unexpected
to reveal itself. I am mesmerized by how the heat from my torch can turn the solid wax surface into a liquefied state and in just a few minutes of cooling, it can go back to its solid state.
I always attempt to approach my work with both a sense of playfulness and deliberation. Most of my work turns out totally different then when I started. I have found that my best work comes when I allow the beeswax to tell me what it wants to become. My working process can be effortless or challenging; either way, I am pulled along, fascinated by the process.
Curriculum Vitae
Education
2008 BFA, Drawing and Painting, University of North Texas, College of Visual Arts and Design, Denton, TX
1994 Certification in Visual Merchandising Assistant, Brookhaven Community College, Dallas, TX
Solo Exhibitions
2011 "Impermanent Landforms", University of North Texas, Union Gallery, Denton, TX
Group Exhibitions
2016 “Color Contained: An Exhibition of Abstract Art”, The Arts Gallery of Collin College, Plano, Texas, Curators: Julie Shipp
2016 “Arts Open Call”, The Patterson-Appleton Arts Center, Denton, Texas
2015 “Chaos!! Small Works 2015”, Ro2 Art Gallery, Dallas, Texas
2015 “Family Ties Brooklyn/Dallas”, 500x Gallery, Dallas, Texas, Curators: Julie Torres, Bonny Leibowitz
2014 "Object Object!!: A Selection of Smaller Works", Helmth Projects, San Diego, CA, Curator: The good good things, with Catalog
"Between Oak & Mulberry- Artwork from Eight University of North Texas Alumni", Norwood Flynn Gallery, Dallas, TX, Curator: Vincent Falsetta
2013 "Change", Plano Art Association Grand Opening August Exhibition, Plano, TX
"Annual Member Exhibition", McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
"500x Expo 2013 Juried Exhibition", 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX, Juror: Iris Bechtol
2012 "Annual Member Exhibiton", McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
"Visual Arts Society of Texas 44th Annual National Juried Exhibition", The Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, TX, Juror: Elizabeth Dunbar
"Plano Art Association 7th Annual 125 Juried Show", Collin College Arts Gallery, Plano, TX, Jurors: Ryder Richards and Laura Green
2010 "16th Anniversary Member Exhibition", McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
"Plano Art Association Annual 125 Juried Show", Collin College Arts Gallery, Plano, TX, Jurors: Allison Gillies and Evamaria Kutscheid
"Visual Art Society of Texas 42nd Annual National Juried Exhibition", The Center for the Visual Arts, Denton, TX, Juror: Melissa Miller
2009 "500x Expo 2009 Juried Exhibition", 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX, Juror: Gavin Morrison
2008 "UNT Senior Exhibition", Cora Stafford Gallery, Denton, TX
2007 "Semester Group Exhibition", Lightwell, UNT Gallery, Denton, TX
"UNT International Student Exhibition", Union Gallery, Denton, TX
2006 "UNT International Student Exhibition", Union Gallery, Denton, TX
Honors/ Awards
2010 1st place award, Plano Art Association Annual 125 Juried Show, Plano, TX
Nominated by UNT Professor Vincent Falsetta for 2010-11 Solo Series Exhibition at Women and Their Work, Austin, TX
Publications
2015 Curating Contemporary: By Brian Edmonds, April 14th, "Family Ties: Brooklyn/ Dallas" at 500x Gallery, Dallas, TX
Gallery Travels: by Anne Russinof, April 18th, "Family Ties" at 500x Gallery in Dallas, TX
Dallas Morning News: by Michael Granberry, Weekly Arts and Life, May 1st, "Artists from Brooklyn and Dallas descend on 500x Gallery near Fair Park"
Moderndallas.net: by Todd Camplin, Weekly Review, April 10th, "Family Ties, Brooklyn/ Dallas"
2014 Moderndallas.net: by Todd Camplin, Weekly Review, February 9th, "Between Oak and Mulberry"
San Diego City Beat: by Kinsee Morian and Friends, December 29th, "San Diego's Best Art of 2014"
Collections
The Encaustic Center, Richardson TX
Susan Dyer, Dallas, TX
Karen and Robert Milnes, Denton, TX
Vincent Falsetta, Denton, TX
Involvement
Art Judge, Senior Thesis, Independent Study: "Seeking Style," Painting Portfolio by Seth Nelson, School for the Talented and Gifted, Dallas, TX, 2012
Member of Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX
Member of McKinney Avenue Contemporary, Dallas, TX
Member of Plano Art Association, Plano, TX
