Frederick Hammersley Artist-in-Residence: Thu Vu Kim
In Residence: August 1 – 29, 2025
Dee Ann McIntyre in Memory of Scotty McIntyre Artist Studio
Using line drawing, various types of paper, and dynamic lighting Thu Kim Vu creates temporary site-specific installations that examine the architecture, interior spaces, and natural landscapes of cities she encounters through her travels. Reflecting her experience as a visitor to the many cities where she has been an artist in residence or an exhibiting artist, Vu uses drawing and light to build interactive sculptural maps that consider and investigate her new surroundings.
For her residency at the New Mexico Museum of Art, Vu will draw inspiration from the Museum’s extensive collection, as well as from the city of Santa Fe and its local arts community, allowing them to guide her artistic process in new and unexpected ways.
Vu has participated in residency programs worldwide at spaces including Vermont Studio Center, New York Mills Regional Cultural Center, Goyang National Art Studio, McColl Center of Visual Art, The Rockefeller Foundation’s Bellagio Center, Museum of Contemporary Art in La Coruna, and the Sylt Foundation. In recent years, Vu’s interest in Japanese culture and her studies of Washi paper led to four residencies in Japan, during which she experimented with paper sculpture and lighting at the Kamiyama Artists in Residence Program, Mino Paper Art Village, Sapporo Artist in Residence Program, and the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum.
Thu Kim Vu received her BFA from Hanoi University of Fine Arts, Vietnam and her MFA from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, United States. Vu is based in Hanoi, Vietnam.
Learn more about Thu Kim Vu: https://thukimvu.dphoto.com/
Open Studio Hours: Wednesdays & Saturdays, 10 AM – 5PM
Visit the Artist Studio for a chance to meet Thu Kim Vu and learn more about the work she is undertaking during her residency. Included with admission.
Friday, August 22, 5:30-6:30 pm
Artist Talk at the Vladem Contemporary Education Classroom
FREE
Join us for a talk with Artist-in-Residence, Thu Kim Vu, where she will discuss her art practice. By using Vietnamese Zo paper, Japanese Washi paper, Chinese ink brushes and LED light to explore and modify temporary spaces, Vu combines the imaginative concept of the city with meticulous craftmanship using traditional materials. “My works reflects the relationship between myself and the surrounding environment,” she writes, “and that relationship always changed through moving, traveling, encountering new cultures, and being fascinated by architectural forms of different local landscapes.”
https://www.nmartmuseum.org/events/thu-kim-vu-artist-in-residence-talk-journey-with-lines/
Saturday, August 23, 10 AM – 5 PM
Artist-led Workshop at the Vladem Contemporary Education Classroom
This event is ticketed and will be limited to 12 participants
Frederick Hammersley Artist-in-Residence Thu Kim Vu will lead this workshop based on principles that she explores in her artistic practice. Participants will build a lampshade using different techniques of wire frame construction, paper cutting, drawing, folding and interacting with lighting. The workshop is not just about how to make a lamp, but a way to visualize how to build a light sculpture from an LED light bulb in which each individual can develop their own imagination, characteristics, and personal style with funky shapes, colors, and narrative stories.
https://www.nmartmuseum.org/events/thu-kim-vu-light-workshop/
The artist-in-residence program is generously supported by a grant from the Frederick Hammersley Fund for the Arts at the Albuquerque Community Foundation.