TUAN
[ Biography ]“Once we embrace the true meaning of balance, we can come to terms with our own existence.” – Tuan
“Existential Balance” is the term, coined by Tuan, to bring emphasis to the importance of balance to human existence, because life itself is about balance. Each of Tuan’s sculptures is, therefore, a visual and tactile essay on “Existential Balance”, featuring the counterpoint and interaction of elements that highlight the balance between darkness and light, masculine and feminine, rough and smooth, and often heaven and earth.
Another unique feature of the sculptures of Tuan is the way that he has masterfully engineered them to seem almost weightless, belying the fact that they are cast in bronze. The perceived weightiness of the dense bronze is mediated by way of Tuan’s architectural, mathematical, and engineering skills, creating elements that seem weightless; poetic and philosophical expressions of Tuan’s understanding of “Existential Balance.”
“I want the viewer to become the sculptor, as if my hands were an extension of their own.” – Tuan
Born in Vietnam in 1963 to a family of wealth and privilege, Tuan learned volumes about balance after the fall of Saigon in 1975. Wealth had turned to poverty, privilege to oppression, and happiness to sadness; Tuan began to realize that one cannot exist without the other. Thirsting for freedom, Tuan’s first attempt to escape the Communist regime failed, he witnessed the death of his close friend, and was cast into a concentration camp. Tuan never gave up and was not broken, in fact, by utilizing his skills as a sculptor and clay from his cell floor, he was able to sculpt likenesses of his fellow inmates and his captors, expediting his release. Finally succeeding in fleeing Vietnam, Tuan eventually made it to the United States in 1989, where he embarked on a career as a sculptor with renewed energy and passion.
“Art is vital for me. It is almost a religion. It means to believe in people, in life, in love. It is a response to what is beautiful and simple. As an artist I do what I do for no other purpose than to express my feelings.” - Tuan
Tuan received his Fine Arts degree from the Art Institute of Southern California in Laguna Beach, California, and in 1994 he was awarded the prestigious Gloria Medal from the National Sculpture Society (New York), a medal bestowed upon a young artist for a meritorious body of work. Later, in 2006, Tuan received the coveted Gold Medal for Sculpture from the California Art Club for “Rendezvous”. Tuan’s work can be found on exhibit in fine art galleries throughout the United States and as far away as London, England, and in such notable permanent collections as the Pasadena Museum of Art, the MOCA Museum and the White House in Washington, D.C.
His commissioned works and installations include: The Vietnam War Memorial in Westminster, California, commemorating the partnership between American and Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam War. The Kuhn Corporation’s Plaza in Orlando, Florida; where the complete series of Tuan’s heroics are featured. The Island of Trinidad, Heisler Park in Laguna Beach, California where Tuan’s heroic “Rendezvous” now overlooks the ocean, and in Mobile, Alabama where larger-than-life tribute to Saint Therese “the little flower” was dedicated in 2008. With the value of freedom constantly on his mind, Tuan’s latest project is the creation of a Vietnamese Refugee Memorial intended to instill an appreciation of freedom in the hearts of future generations.
“If we live in this world and forget the past, we cannot see the future.” - Tuan
Tuan's Story
Most of us could not imagine the experiences crowded into Tuan’s life, starting with his birth in 1963 into one of the wealthiest families in all of Vietnam - royalty, in fact…
As a youth, Tuan was shielded from the war by enviable security, was surrounded by a large extended family and was catered to by multiple servants. Tuan grew up in the glow of love, far removed from the war, in both distance and mind, largely because of the well known success of his father, an architect. Tuan was able to attend a prestigious private school, become an accomplished tennis player, and play freely, thoroughly insulated from the terror ravaging his country.
With the fall of Saigon in 1975, Tuan’s life changed dramatically; his father was removed to a forced labor camp to be “re-educated” by the Communists and the compound that had provided Tuan with peace and security during his first twelve years was suddenly confiscated. Tuan was learning about balance the hard way, as wealth turned to poverty, happiness to sadness, and freedom to oppression. Tuan’s father eventually returned, but was compelled to stay at home. How his father handled his house-arrest turned out to be a major influence on Tuan’s perception of life and in his maturity. Tuan’s father did not greet this new situation with despair, but rather as an opportunity to create sculpture, a longtime passion. Always able to draw, Tuan now paid increasing attention to sculpture, frequently working alongside of his father. After awhile, however, Tuan rebelled against his father’s rigid approach to the medium and his father became increasingly frustrated over Tuan’s refusal (or inability) to be “disciplined” in his approach.
His father’s fame seemed to form a protective umbrella around the family, at least for awhile, and they were generally left alone by the authorities. Nevertheless, Tuan longed for the freedom he had once known, so he started to hide in the woods when the authorities came to check on him and his family. He inevitably would became scared, however, and return home. Then, in 1986, he made a momentous decision; to escape by boat down the river. But his plan did not materialize as hoped and he and his coterie were discovered while en route. Shots were fired, his friend was killed, and Tuan was arrested.
As punishment, Tuan was kept in the harshest of prisons and for six long months he was held in a windowless room, packed so tight with inmates that sleeping could only be accomplished shoulder to shoulder. Tuan avoided an even worse existence when he realized that the floor of his cell was “clay”. Tuan began to create portraits of his fellow prisoners, becoming an instant celebrity in the process, eventually sculpting for families of captors and captives alike. Finally, after a year of captivity, Tuan was freed and returned to his parents.
Still hungry for freedom, but more mature and experienced, Tuan made contact with the underground and, after enduring a harrowing two-month trek through the jungles of Southeast Asia, left the Communist regime behind and arrived in Cambodia. After taking a boat to Thailand, Tuan was finally out of danger, but now was faced with months of dreary living in refugee camps in Thailand and then the Philippines. While in the Philippines, Tuan learned English, and had his first sculpture show, featuring figures of escaping Vietnamese. Once again, he became a celebrity!
Finally, arriving in San Francisco in 1989, Tuan was truly free and, with an excitement and passion for life and a deep appreciation of balance that permeates his daily activities even today, he set out to make a new life as a sculptor.
Recognition for the young artist followed quickly once he had earned his degree in Fine Arts from the Art Institute of Southern California. In 1994, Tuan was the recipient of the prestigious Gloria Medal from the National Sculpture Society, an award bestowed upon a young artist for a “meritorious body of work”. During his career as a sculptor, Tuan has been commissioned for a number of public and private works, including a memorial bust for the Nicole Brown Simpson Charitable Foundation, a 15-foot monument for the City of Westminster’s Vietnam War Memorial, commemorating the partnership between American and South Vietnamese soldiers during the Vietnam war, a series of heroic sculptures for The Plaza in Orlando, Florida, his heroic “Four Elements” for the Island of Trinidad, a larger-than-life tribute to Saint Therese “the little flower” in Mobile, Alabama and his heroic “Rendezvous” for the city of Laguna Beach, California’s picturesque Heisler Park.
Today, Tuan “works” 7 days a week in his studio, both his parents have escaped Vietnam and now live with him in Southern California, and, yes, he and his father still spar over the sculptural process on occasion. Tuan has learned much over the years, about life, about passion, about “Existential Balance”, and about the value of freedom and the importance of learning from the past. Tuan’s proposed Vietnamese Refugee Memorial promises to be a testament to freedom. “If we live in this world and forget the past, we cannot see the future” – Tuan