For Life: Paintings by Trinh Mai to benefit the Angkor Hospital for Children
Starting February 10th, 2011, there will be an exhibition of paintings by local Vietnamese artist Trinh Mai at a.Muse Gallery in San Francisco, benefiting the Angkor Hospital for Children in Cambodia. A public reception for the artist will be held on Thursday, February 10th, 2011 from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. Admission is free and the exhibition runs through April 5th.
Mai’s boldly expressive abstracts and highly modern portraits and figurative work demand an active relationship between the viewer and the artist’s creative vision. Her first solo exhibition in San Francisco will include new works from her series Relearning the Language of the Birds, paying homage to the natural world and the messages it brings forth to awaken the human spirit.
According to the artist: “What moves me about this exhibit is that although this will be my first solo show in San Francisco, I feel like it is not at all about me. I am embracing it as more of a lesson about what I can do to make a difference in the world.”
Mai suggests that in making paintings that may help raise awareness and money for suffering children, she is “connecting with the profound honesty that children possess.” She concedes that working day after day in the studio, an artist can find themselves consumed by their work and needs for personal expression.
“Knowing that there is a greater cause for these paintings allows me to meditate on a story other than my own and draws out of me empathy and compassion.”
Many paintings in the collection include evocative portraits of family members, including A Prayer for Anh Duc, a tribute to her brother-in-law, who, following the footsteps of his father, spent a great deal of his life as a soldier at war. While coming from a personal narrative, these works explore universal themes of hope and determination in the face of adversity.
“The details may vary, but as human beings we have all been through similar experiences, and we are all strengthened by them,” says Mai.
After viewing Mai’s earlier work, a.Muse owner Lori Shantzis felt compelled to find a wider audience. Having adopted her daughter Thea from Cambodia more than eleven years ago, Shantzis was moved to facilitate a partnership between Mai and Friends Without A Border (Friends). Friends is a charity dedicated to healing Cambodia. Through Angkor Hospital for Children in Siem Reap, Friends provides direct medical care and treatment to the children of Cambodia, training for healthcare professionals from throughout the country, and village-based community health programs. AHC has treated more than 800,000 sick and malnourished kids since it opened in 1999.
Founder and famed photographer Kenro Izu first leveraged his art to raise funds and awareness in 1996 to build Angkor Hospital for Children. Through the generosity of Trinh Mai and Lori Shantzis, a benefit reception will be held at a.Muse on Thursday, February 17, 2011 from 6 to 9:00 pm. Fifty percent of the proceeds from the sale of Trinh Mai’s work will benefit Angkor Hospital for Children.
“Trinh’s work speaks from the heart,” according to Shantzis. “She asks the viewer to see everything in life: beauty, suffering, the natural world, humankind, as a reflection of the Divine. She invites everyone to feel the inherent interconnectedness between all beings. There isn’t a stronger appeal for giving to suffering children than that.”
Mai attributes much of her strength and dedication to her art to her husband Hien’s love and support.
“His strong will to persist inspires me and reminds me to be steadfast in my choices. For some time now, we’ve been hoping for this opportunity to support the children in southeast Asia. This show is a milestone for us and it’s very special for us to be experiencing this together.”
Tickets to the Friends/AHC benefit are available through a.Muse Gallery (info@yourmusegallery.com) and Friends Without A Border (mayanna@fwab.org). For more information about Friends/AHC, contact Mayanna Prak. To find out more about Mai’s work, visit www.trinhmai.com or call a.Muse Gallery at (415) 279-6281 to make an appointment to see the show.
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