Tam Van Tran [p.2]

So it seems only natural for his father to wish for his children a more secure and stable profession to save them from such hardships. All of Tran’s siblings chose a safer, more traditional life, got married, had kids, and now live in a Vietnamese community.

But Tran did not take the route of his siblings. He is single and lives by himself in an area without a high Vietnamese American population. He converted to Buddhism whereas the rest of his family remained devout Catholics. This difference in lifestyles has been a source of conflict among him and the rest of his family.

“My parents really don’t understand what I’m doing. One time I was telling them how I set my prices. And my mom said ‘Why don’t you sell your paintings for $50?’ They don’t understand the concept of art collectors,” says Tran.

One of Tran’s brothers still has a hard time dealing with his strong assimilation into America.

“He says I’m too American,” says Tran. “But I take issue with his traditional life. Being married and having kids doesn’t always make anyone happier. It gives you false security. You could lose it at anytime.”

One day, Tran extended an olive branch to his siblings by inviting them to meet his Tibetan Buddhist mentor, Traga Rinpoche, for lunch. What could have been a clash of differences resulted in a meeting of the minds.

“I was anticipating a negative experience. But both siblings thought Rinpoche was a wise person. My sister even gave Rinpoche $100,” says Tran.

There was a point during lunch that Tran’s brother asked Rinpoche for his opinion on his younger sibling. Tran’s brother told Rinpoche he thought his younger brother was “too American.” Rinpoche responded with a parallel to what is happening to Tibetans in China.

Rinpoche explained that Tibetan parents in China feel like their kids are too Chinese. But he explained that it’s okay if you incorporate the best values of Chinese culture and marry it with Tibetan culture. If someone takes only the best of both worlds, you will have something good, Rinpoche asserted.

Tran was surprised by how positively his brother responded to Rinpoche and believes this meeting has helped his brother to understand Tran’s “American-ness” more.

Stepping on Eggshells
Success as an artist is often a long and hard road traveled. After art school, Tran took five years off from painting. He became a professional chef and cooked at high-end restaurants and for private clientele to pay the bills.

“Most people who go to art school never become artists at all,” says Tran.

After being disconnected from his artistic side for so long, there came a point when he decided to give himself the chance to be an artist. From 1995-97, he went back to the canvas and devoted himself to creating a body of work. He created seven large-scale abstract works on canvas.

At the time, he was experimenting with fractals. He created a few pieces that used egg shells treated with a wax and turpentine mixture to show a mosaic effect. He was still working in the kitchen of a high-end country club in Los Angeles to pay the bills. His job at The Riviera would supply the materials he needed for his canvases.

“I had to make breakfast every morning which meant a lot of eggs. So I just took bags of egg shells home and used it for my canvases,” says Tran.

His first collection drew some interest, but not enough to put him on the map. But he just went back to the drawing board to work on more art. The more he worked on his art, the more he connected with people in the art world.

It took several bodies of work to draw serious interest from dealers and collectors. In 2000, the cosmos rewarded the fruits of Tran’s labor and things started to come together.

He got his first show at a small gallery in West Hollywood called Dirt. Later that year, his second show was launched at the Susan Vielmetter LA Projects, a high-profile art gallery in Los Angeles. This is where he received his first gallery representation and started selling to private collectors.

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