Dan Lam

b. 1988, Manila, Phillipines
Lives and works in Dallas, TX

Born in Manila to a Vietnamese family who relocated to Texas when she was a child, Lam spent her formative creative years in Dallas with her mother.  She received her B.F.A. in 2010 from the University of North Texas and later completed a Masters of Fine Arts degree at Arizona State University.

Lam currently resides in Dallas, TX where she works primarily alone in her studio at her home.  She finds peace and solace in her creative process during the late night hours.  Having the accessibility to work and live in the same space allows her to move back and forth freely and comfortably in her own controlled chaos.  Her sculptures also live amongst her.  From her bookshelf to the top of a file cabinet, her “what are theys” are everywhere around her and become living, breathing organisms of the unique environment she has created for herself to live within. 

Lam enjoys the unpredictable quality of her process.  This is seen in the way she manipulates the foam structures and handles the resin.  She couples this with the tedious and controlled placement of her acrylic “spikes” and surface designs.  This opposition is crucial to her work.  Whether seen in the process itself, or the final result, which exudes both an intense beauty and an intense uncomfortability, Lam plays with these polarities and examines them closely.

The polymorphous, multi-textural and ambiguous qualities of her work both confuse and delight the viewer, leaving you craving more and wishing you could touch them.  Dan Lam is just getting started.  The objects that she is making are difficult to identify and definitely impossible to forget.

Artist’s Website