During her residency at PICA, Thu Van Tran will explore the importance of fire and survival from a spiritual perspective. Utilising ceramics, earth and plants, materials that undergo transformative processes through fire, she will explore how destruction by consumption can give birth to new forms, new meanings. By incorporating locally sourced earth into her creations, Thu Van Tran will highlight the unique significance of fire in the Australian landscape, inviting reflection on the cycles of creation and renewal.
About the Artist
Thu Van Tran was born in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, she now lives and works in Paris, France. In 2017, she distinguished herself with a remarkable installation at the Venice Biennale. In 2018, she was nominated for the Marcel Duchamp Prize, and in 2022 completed a major site-specific commission at Pittsburgh’s Carnegie Museum of Art. Most recently, she exhibited at the Bourse de Commerce, Pinault Collection. Over the past twenty years, Thu Van Tran has developed a wide-ranging body of work, whose cosmic dimension is evident in her sculptural installations, monumental frescoes and filmed narratives.
Her works currently feature in several local and international public collections, such as the prestigious Collection of the MNAM, Musée National d’Art Moderne – Centre Georges Pompidou (France), the Collection of Frac-Île de France (France), the Fondation Louis Vuitton (France), Pinault Foundation (France), Beaux-Arts Paris (France), the Museum of the Louvre Abu- Dhabi (United Arab Emirates) and the Collection of the Fondation Kadist (France/United-States).
Thu Van Tran, Paris-Perth Artist-in-Residence Exchange, Perth Institute of Contemporary Arts (PICA), 2025. Photo: Tristan McKenzie
