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VCAA develops and presents public art exhibitions in partnership with museums and galleries. These exhibitions highlight the Vietnamese immigrant experience, intergenerational cultural identity, and the historical and social impact of Vietnamese Americans. Exhibits are open to the public and are accompanied by an educational context to increase understanding and appreciation of Vietnamese culture.
CURRENT EXHIBIT
CURRENT EXHIBIT
Jeffrey Allen Gallery is honored to host a permanent collection of artwork from the late artist Le Quang Vinh (1941–2014). After relocating to the United States following the fall of Saigon, Le created all of his paintings here in Portland, Oregon. Notably, his work was never exhibited publicly during his lifetime. These paintings are being shared for the first time with the Oregon community he called home. The collection may be viewed through guided tours narrated by the artist’s surviving family members.
Born in Huế, Vietnam, Vinh was the youngest of five children. He never knew his father and was raised by his mother, Châu Thị Thí, and his eldest sister. In Huế, he studied fine arts at university, and at the age of 24, joined the Republic of Vietnam Navy. In the spring of 1975, while serving on a battleship in the middle of the South China Sea, Vinh and shipmates were forced to sail away from their homeland. He, along with tens of thousands of Vietnamese people, landed in Subic Bay, Philippines. Travelling on a cargo ship, headed to the same destination, was Lương Thị Thu, Vinh's future wife. There, they met briefly before parting ways. One of 13 children, Thu and her family were sponsored by a Lutheran church in Portland, Oregon. Vinh was sponsored by a family in NE Portland. They reconnected through the growing Vietnamese community, and in 1977, Vinh and Thu married. By that year, Vinh had finished 5 paintings and throughout his life in Portland, Oregon, completed 22 paintings, with his last in 2014. Vinh was not a commercial artist during his lifetime. Instead, he painted for himself. In his humble beginnings, he worked days as a custodian and spent evenings in front of his easel, painting stories of emperors and maidens. Later in life, he painted to express what he was not able to communicate with words. He painted his memories, dreams, and philosophical contemplations. Vinh is survived by his wife, Thu, and three children, Vy, Kha, and Vân, and two grandchildren, Haru and Kazuma.
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