View source for Binh Pho

{{Short description|Vietnamese-American artist (1955–2017)}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Binh Pho
| birth_date = September 19, 1955
| death_date = August 23, 2017
| birth_place = Saigon, Vietnam
| education = DeVry University, Kansas City, MO
| occupation = Artist in wood
}}
'''Binh Pho''' (September 19, 1955 &ndash; August 23, 2017)<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.woodturner.org/news/360800/Binh-Pho-Honoring-his-Life-and-Legacy.htm |title=Binh Pho: Honoring his Life and Legacy |access-date=2017-10-16 |archive-date=2019-06-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190607004004/https://www.woodturner.org/news/360800/Binh-Pho-Honoring-his-Life-and-Legacy.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> was a Vietnamese-American artist best known for his pierced and painted works in wood.<ref>River of Destiny: The Life & Work of Binh Pho, Fine Arts Press, 2006</ref>
==Early life==
Binh Pho grew up in [[Ho Chi Minh City|Saigon]] during the [[Vietnam War]]. His childhood memories are for the most part pleasant, though he remembered the horrors of the [[Tet Offensive]] and other fearful moments.<ref>New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art, by Terry Martin and Kevin Wallace, Fox Chapel Publishing, 2008</ref> When the “Red Peace” descended upon the land in 1975, he refused to accept [[Communism]]. He tried to escape but was captured and sent to a re-education camp for a year where he was brutally beaten and tortured by communist [[Cadre (military)|cadres]]. After three more attempts he finally made his escape in 1978 as one of the boat people.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref> The journey from his childhood in Vietnam to life as an artist in the United States is one of struggle and perseverance, yet he viewed it as a philosophical acceptance of destiny through the lens of the happiness and success he found in the United States.<ref>New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art, by Terry Martin and Kevin Wallace, Fox Chapel Publishing, 2008</ref>
Binh Pho arrived in the United States on May 7, 1979, and initially focused on higher education, receiving a bachelor's degree in electronics in 1982.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref> He became a United States citizen in 1984.<ref>River of Destiny: The Life & Work of Binh Pho, Fine Arts Press, 2006</ref>
An early breakthrough in Pho's work was meeting the Canadian woodturner Frank Sudol at the [[Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts]]. Sudol's piercing and airbrushing techniques opened a new world of self-expression for Pho. He combined the techniques with lessons learned from other woodturners; the use of color as employed by Giles Gilson and Michael Hosaluk, a sense of continuity learned from Michael Mode, and the use of metal leaf in the work of furniture maker David Marks. He was also influenced by 20th century Surrealist painters and sculptors, notably [[Salvador Dalí]] and [[Mihail Chemiakin]].<ref>New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art, by Terry Martin and Kevin Wallace, Fox Chapel Publishing, 2008</ref>
==Career==
Binh Pho began selling his work in 1995, quickly gaining the attention of art collectors and devoted increasing time to his work.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref> For much of his career, the work was autobiographical in nature, sharing the story of his life in Vietnam and pursuit of freedom in the United States.<ref>River of Destiny: The Life & Work of Binh Pho, Fine Arts Press, 2006</ref> In 2006, the book ''River of Destiny: The Life and Work of Binh Pho'' was published in conjunction with an exhibition of the artist's work at the [[Long Beach Museum of Art]] in California. In the book, curator and author Kevin Wallace shared Binh Pho's life story, Vietnamese history and philosophy.<ref>Binh Pho: Shadow of The Turning, American Art Collector, December 2014</ref>
==Technique==
For Pho, part of the attraction of working with wood was the poetic similarity he saw between trees and human beings and he approached the material with reverence.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref> A love of color, Eastern imagery and modern art are obvious in his pieces.<ref>New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art, by Terry Martin and Kevin Wallace, Fox Chapel Publishing, 2008</ref>
After turning a vessel and carefully preparing its surface, Pho sketched the layout of the decoration, utilizing a principle of Chinese landscape painting, in which the eye is drawn into a vast landscape by the inclusion of a temple or cottage. He used an airbrush to apply paint to the surface. He then employed ultraspeed drills to etch and pierce sections of the vessel. The piercing creates negative space that contrasts with the wood that remains and patterns that mimic natural phenomena.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref>
Binh Pho is particularly known for his use of form, instinctively designing works that utilize ratios that are very close to the theoretical “golden section” that can be seen in works dating back through antiquity.<ref>Geometry of the Golden Section, Robert Vincent, translated by A. Mequin. Chalagam Publishing (France), 2003</ref>
As the artist's work progressed, he moved beyond vessel making to create monumental sculptures and wall pieces.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref>
Binh Pho was a highly sought-after demonstrator and lecturer.<ref>Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003</ref>
==Permanent Collections==
*[[Renwick Gallery]], Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Binh Pho {{!}} Smithsonian American Art Museum|url=https://americanart.si.edu/artist/binh-pho-28463|access-date=2021-03-26|website=americanart.si.edu|language=en-US}}</ref>
*[[Cincinnati Art Museum]], Cincinnati, OH
*[[Bellevue Arts Museum]], Bellevue, WA
*[[University of Michigan Museum of Art]], Ann Arbor MI<ref>{{Cite web|title=Exchange: Kimono #3|url=https://exchange.umma.umich.edu/resources/30517|access-date=2020-09-25|website=exchange.umma.umich.edu}}</ref>
*[[Museum of Arts and Design|Museum of Art and Design]], New York, NY<ref>{{Cite web|title=Heaven and Earth|url=http://collections.madmuseum.org/objects/details/3285;jsessionid=8A701266C9E0BDC133CF116D0586C14A|access-date=2021-03-26|website=collections.madmuseum.org|language=en}}</ref>
*Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA
*[[Mobile Museum of Art]], Mobile, AL
*[[Detroit Institute of Arts]], Detroit, MI
*Figge Museum of Art, [[Davenport, Iowa|Davenport, IA]]
*[[Art in the White House|White House Collection]], Washington, D.C.
*Wood Turning Center, Philadelphia, PA
*[[Arrowmont School of Arts and Crafts]], Gatlinburg, TN
*[[Carnegie Museum of Art]], Pittsburgh, PA
*[[Mint Museum]], Charlotte, NC<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Mint Museum {{!}} Realm of a Dream|url=http://www.mintmuseums.org/resources/collection-database/item/2009.20/realm-of-a-dream/|access-date=2021-03-26|website=www.mintmuseums.org}}</ref>
*Fuller Craft Art Museum, Brockton, MA
*Musee Art du bois, Breville, France
*[[Minneapolis Institute of Art]], Minneapolis, MN<ref>{{Cite web|title=Bamboo Basket #2, Binh Pho, American, born Vietnam, 1955 - 2017 ^ Minneapolis Institute of Art|url=http://collections.artsmia.org/art/111955/bamboo-basket-2-binh-pho-american-born-vietnam-1955-2017|access-date=2021-03-26|website=collections.artsmia.org}}</ref>
==Shadow of The Turning==
In 2012, Binh Pho again collaborated with Kevin Wallace on Shadow of The Turning, referred to by art critic David M. Fry as “a visual and literary amalgam that was audacious in almost every way”.<ref>Binh Pho at the Mobile Museum of Art by David M. Fry, American Woodturner, February, 2014</ref> The book and museum exhibition was an exploration of art, myth and philosophy, drawing upon diverse genres and media to bring the viewer into a fascinating literary adventure.<ref>Binh Pho: Shadow of The Turning, American Art Collector, December 2014</ref> With the jointly imagined work of fiction, Binh used the elaborate tale to frame a new body of work. In essence, the art became illustration for the story.<ref>Binh Pho at the Mobile Museum of Art by David M. Fry, American Woodturner, February, 2014</ref> The exhibition sought to create a bridge between literature, art world approaches to concept and narrative and craft traditions. The story was “illustrated” with works that combined woodturning, sculpture, painting and art glass. As the storyline explored collaboration, a diverse group of international artists were brought together to collaborate on works of art that celebrate traditional craft materials and processes to redefine the boundaries of contemporary art.<ref>Binh Pho: Shadow of The Turning, American Art Collector, December 2014</ref> The structure of the exhibition and its individual works suggested the enduring importance of architecture to Pho, who studied the subject in college in Vietnam.<ref>Binh Pho at the Mobile Museum of Art by David M. Fry, American Woodturner, February, 2014</ref>
==References==
{{Reflist}}
*Binh Pho at the Mobile Museum of Art by David M. Fry, American Woodturner, February 2014
*Attractive Opposites by Stephen Henkin, The World & I, a Publication of The Washington Times, June 2003
*New Masters of Woodturning: Expanding the Boundaries of Wood Art, by Terry Martin and Kevin Wallace, Fox Chapel Publishing, 2008
*Woodturning Magazine, Eastern Promise by Iona Elliot
*River of Destiny: The Life & Work of Binh Pho, Fine Arts Press, 2006
*Geometry of the Golden Section, Robert Vincent, translated by A. Mequin. Chalagam Publishing (France), 2003
*Binh Pho: Shadow of The Turning, American Art Collector, December 2014
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pho, Binh}}
[[Category:Vietnamese artists]]
[[Category:American artists]]
[[Category:1955 births]]
[[Category:2017 deaths]]
[[Category:People from Ho Chi Minh City]]
[[Category:Vietnamese emigrants to the United States]]
[[Category:American woodworkers]]
[[Category:American artists of Asian descent]]
[[Category:Woodturners]]
[[Category:20th-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:21st-century American sculptors]]
[[Category:Vietnamese sculptors]]