Press Release
 
FROM FLORIDA BACK TO ALASKA
A long road home for Huong
 
 
     
Eskimo Women 16x20                Mother and Child 18x28                    Gatheing Eggs 16x20
Watercolor 1981 by Huong          Oil on Paper 1984 by Huong            Watercolor 1981 by Huong
 
 

Alaska: - From the river of grass, the Everglades, she has painted in Florida. This summer in August, Huong ( the long lost painter) will return to her favorite subject, the river of ice, glaciers in Alaska; to revisit Kodiak, Anchorage and Juneau, her homes since she arrived the northern frontier in 1976. She encountered Peace and snow for the First time in her life, raised her son and plowed herself into oneway road of art.

 

 Freshly arrived to America as a weary war journalist and refugee, this young mother and her 1 year old son left California, Refugee camp Pendleton to the Arctic north in 1976. Alaska opened the arms and Huong found a place she belongs to, not only nurturing, Alaska healed and offered the important and fascinating training from the beginning of her career in Art  to  the solitude to deal with the emotional complexities inside.

 

" -First  It took the whole icy cold of the Bering sea to cool down the anger and the pain in my heart,  . . . .and then after it took the whole mountain of Alaska with summer wild flowers to cheer me up and and put a smile back on my face. . . AH ! Alaska at last, the war sparred me, and this is new chapter of my life " Huong said.

 

Facing the barrier of a new language, Huong broke her pen and exchange it for the brush. Art, an international language  has helped her to communicate and express her feelings toward her new home, her Alaska landscape, life of the Alaskan, fish and flower were popular collections, both to the locals and tourist visitors.

 

In 1980, Huong owns galleries in Kodiak, Anchorage and Juneau, at a mere 34 years old, Huong is considered a successful artist in Alaska, she feels fortunate that "- Alaska opened their heart to me and accepted my work " (Juneau Art Journal, Sep 1984).

 

Caught in the the recession in 1985, Huong left Alaska and mounted 85 solo exhibits in nationwide and Canada. The trip took her 4 years driving zic zack across the nation on her Alaska beat up Buick station Wagon, with her 10 years old son sat next to the wheel, road-schooling himself, the road ended in Florida in 1990.

"- There is no more road to drive to, and I don't want to swim to Cuba. The Haitian and Cuban Refugees were rafting to USA away from their homeland just as I was in 1975"

 

A year later, she met an art lover and banker, Glenn Ryals. In their 1st date he took her to kayak on the St Lucie River. Now her painting river of ice, glacier in the north  will turn into the river of grass of the Everglades in the south. Florida then became her new  home.

 

"- It is the end of my Homeless Bohemian artist life and get back to studio to paint more

serious works." Huong laughed

 

In 2000, 25 years after the end of the Viet Nam war, Huong presented one of the most significant projects of her career, the series: Fragments of the war. It reflects the crude horror of this war conflict, working on this series helped her confront the tragedies in her life - the lost of her family, the trials of adapting to a new land.

 

Between 2003-2009 Huong created The Peace Mural, an assemblage of 2000 works that represent her protest against the Iraq war, caused her the harassment , questioning on her patriotism of America, her new country. 

 

An other project, USAlive dedicated to the Voices of United States people and President Barack Obama, is traveling to 50 cities in United States. The process of creating USAlive begin with the Inauguration of The President and end in December 10, 2009 when he traveled to Oslo to accept the Nobel Peace Prize. Attributing to the ideological and social change that the nation experienced in that year.

 

Last June 2010, her newest mural Bleeding in the Gulf-Summer 2010, depicts the BP oil spill. A 100 foot long and 8 foot tall, collection of 120 paintings, was unveiled in Washington DC convention Center, during the 10th Annual Conference of American Library Association. It was exclusively viewed by 25,000 librarians and exhibitors, who attended the Conference this year.

 

This summer, before moving forward to New Orleans, Mississippi and Alabama, the states that were hit the hardest by the BP oil spill. To complete the Bleeding in the Gulf mural, the painter will return Alaska second time in 20 years to revisit her first adopted home.

 

"- I wish to see you on my road home, to interview and listen to you on the issue : NATIONAL ARCTIC AND WILDLIFE  REFUGE  OIL DRILLING, to be add on the next chapter for this mural, created from Alaska on this trip home. It will be a gigantic book for public viewing and reading about the century's worst oil spill disaster for many generations to come" Huong said

 

To see more huong's alaska work click : www.peacemural.org

 

 What people said about Huong :

 

-" The effort you put into the painting and the wonderful result to me symbolizes what the statue and Ellis island are all about. Freedom and hardwork combined to produce worthwhile and long lasting results."(Mr Lee Iacocca, Dec 1984-Chrysler Corp.)

 

-" Your exhibit in the rotunda here on the Capitol Hill was extremely well received, thank

you for coming to Washington with your beautiful art show. You are a fine ambassador

for the state of Alaska." ( Don Young, 8-28-1985. Congressman for all Alaska)

 

-" This talented artist has with one exhibition of her work, stimulated public interest in Alaska a more than a beautiful wilderness, she has immeasurably improved the image of Alaska as a growing cultural entity with a great future. Huong is a cultural asset.

( Dr I.A.Stuart, 7-15-86 Carmel, California-Message to Governor Steve Cowper)

 

-" The exhibit is the most powerful of the entire Art Basel experience ! Thank you for bringing it here." Dana Frank,12-8-2007,Miami Floria)

 

- " this is powerful exhibit, It takes a lot of courage and strength to show what is show in this exposition,To be able to show such personal humanity and at the same time such keen perspective of the world of war today is very overwhelming and at the same time admirablee. You're an example." ( Raimundo Gonzalez Diaz, 1-8-2008. Miami Beach Florida)

 

 

 Fate of War 64x60
Oil on Canvas 2000 by Huong


 

 

 

 

 

 

Eskimo Women 16x20

Watercolor 1981 by Huong

 

 

 

 

 

Mother and Child 18x28

Oil on Paper 1984 by Huong

 

 

 

 

 

Gatheing Eggs 16x20

Watercolor 1981 by Huong

 

 

 

 

Fate of War 64x60
Oil on Canvas 2000 by Huong

 

 

 

Life of the Eskimo. 1982. Oil on paper

 

 

 

 

Life in the Harbor. Kodiak Island, Alaska. 1980

 

 

hương

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