Loyola Marymount University’s Laband Art Gallery this fall presents the West Coast debut of artist Antonius-Tín Bui, whose drawings, photographs, performance art and works of hand-cut paper explore how intersectional gender identities are reflected in today’s culture. “Finding Heart (tìm tim)” opens Saturday, Sept. 21, and runs through Dec. 14, 2019.
Bui’s beautifully complex hand-cut paper portrait series blends the Asian craft tradition of paper cutting with a contemporary aesthetic and celebrates multilayered identities. Each one of Bui’s subjects is a queer Asian American Pacific Islander who has played an important part in the artist’s life.
In another series called “Donrose paper fashion,” Bui’s images depict male bodies adorned in majestic-looking, cut-out paper garments that convey a sense of mystery, beauty and fragility.
“Finding Heart” is a direct translation of “tìm tim,” a heteronym in the Vietnamese language. The title presents Bui’s artistic practice as a compassionate undertaking and a way to find a sense of purpose, spirituality and community. As a queer, gender-nonbinary, Vietnamese-American artist, Bui celebrates, honors and challenges assumptions about intersectional identities.
Born in the Bronx, N.Y., and raised in Houston, Texas, Bui earned a bachelor’s degree in fine arts in 2016 from the Maryland Institute College of Art. Their work has been exhibited at various institutional, private, public and underground venues, including the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Hillyer Art Space, Lawndale Art Center, Living Arts, 108 Contemporary, Artscape and Satellite Art Show Austin.
“Finding Heart (tìm tim)” is presented by LMU’s Laband Art Gallery in collaboration with LGBT Student Services, Asian Pacific Student Services, the Academy of Catholic Thought and Imagination and Iggy’s Yarnsters.
Free Public Programming
Artist’s Lecture: Friday, Sept. 27 at 12:15 p.m., Murphy Recital Hall
Opening Reception: Saturday, Sept. 28 from 2-4 p.m., Laband Art Gallery
Artist in Residence: Nov. 13-16. Check the website for performances and conversations scheduled during Bui’s week in residence at LMU.
Image credit: Antonius-Tín Bui, Untitled, Donrose paper fashion, 2016, color photographs, courtesy of the artist.
