Trung Pham

Bio

Trung Pham is an artist and educator based in Seattle, Washington. Born in Vietnam, he immigrated to the United States with his family in 1990. He earned a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from UCLA in 2000. Shortly after graduation, he joined the Jesuit order and pursued a vocation in the arts, completing an MFA in Drawing and Painting at the Pratt Institute in New York in 2006. He later received both his Master of Divinity and Licentiate in Sacred Theology (STL) in Theological Aesthetics from the Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, California, in 2012.

Trung Pham
Associate Professor, Chair
Department of Visual Arts
Seattle University, WA
924 E Cherry Street
Seattle, WA 98122
206-220-8243
phamtr@seattleu.edu

Pham’s immigrant journey and religious devotion deeply inform his artistic practice, which explores the grace and complexity of the human experience through a theological lens. His work is known for integrating theology with visual expression.

An ordained Jesuit priest, Fr. Pham is a resident artist at the Fuller Institute and the Grünewald Guild. He serves on the advisory committee of the George Tsutakawa Art Gallery at the Wing Luke Museum in Seattle. He is currently Associate Professor and Chair of the Department of Visual Arts at Seattle University.

His artworks have been exhibited locally and internationally, including at the De Saisset and Triton Museums in Santa Clara, CA; Manresa Gallery at the University of San Francisco, CA; the Catholic Center in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; the Asian Pacific Heritage Gallery and ArtWest Gallery in Seattle, WA; the White River Valley Museum in Auburn, WA; and Art Space Vincennes in Indiana.

Selected commissioned works include:

  • Bronze statue of Saint Clare, Santa Clara University, CA
  • Bronze crucifix, St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA
  • Resin relief of the 117 Vietnamese Martyrs, Vietnamese Catholic Church, Tukwila, WA
  • Bronze sculpture of Pope John XXIII, Catholic Church of Pope Saint John XXIII, Tacoma, WA

EDUCATION

  • 2006        Master of Fine Arts, Drawing/Painting, Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, NY
  • 2012        Master of Divinity and Licentiate of Sacred Theology, Jesuit School of Theology in Berkeley, Santa Clara University, CA
  • 2000        Bachelor of Science, Chemical Engineering, University of California Los Angeles, CA

COMMISSIONS

  • 2025     “Pope John XXIII,” Bronze Sculpture, 6 feet x 3 feet x 4 feet, Pope John XXIII Parish, Tacoma, WA
  • 2024     “117 Vietnamese Martyrs,” Resin Relief, 15 feet x 20 feet, Vietnamese Martyrs Parish, Tukwila, WA
  • 2023     “Crucifix,” 4.2 feet x 4.2 feet x 1 foot, Resin Sculpture, Marquette University, Milwaukee, WI
  • 2022     “Resurrection Dawn,” 28 feet x 18 feet, Acrylic on Wall, Our Lady of Lavang Parish, Las Vegas, NV
  • 2021     “Crucifix,” 4.2 feet x 4.2 feet x 1 foot, Bronze Sculpture, Saint James Cathedral, Seattle, WA
  • 2014     “Crucifix,” 3 feet x 2 feet x 1 foot, Bronze Sculpture, The Chapel of Seattle Preparatory School, Seattle, WA
  • 2008     “Saint Clare,” 6 feet x 3 feet x 3 feet, Bronze Sculpture, Santa Clara University, Santa Clara, CA

SOLO EXIBITIONS

  • 2018        ”Her Gaze,” St. Paul Monastery Gallery, Benedictine Center, MN
  • 2017        “Vessels of Life,” Chaya Gallery, Bangalore, India
  • 2017      “Cracking Power,” Tobya Art Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2016        “Rupture Wonder,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
  • 2014        “Loi Ru,” Catholic Center, Vietnam
  • 2014        “Crack,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, Seattle, WA
  • 2013       “Mother,” Asian Pacific Heritage Gallery, Seattle, WA 

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

  • 2023     “Have You Eaten?” | A Group Show Featuring AAPI Artists | Slip Gallery, 2031 1st Ave, Seattle, WA
  • 2019     “Brighter Future: to be heard, to be seen, to be free,” ARTS at King Street Station, Seattle, WA 
  • 2018     “Roar: your voice, your story, our truth,” Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2018     “Tiny but Mighty,” D’Art Center, Norfolk, VA
  • 2018     “Anniversary Exhibition,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
  • 2017     “Many Lands,” Bridge Productions Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2017     “Rise | Overcoming Tragedy & Trauma,” Core Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2017     “Stitching Rupture,” M. Rosetta Hunter Art Gallery, Seattle Central College, WA
  • 2016     “Triangulation,” Columbia City Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2016     “Jesuit Spirit in the Arts,” University Gallery, Saint Joseph University, PA
  • 2016     “Encyclical,” Encyclical Gallery, Berkeley, CA
  • 2015     “On Capturing Transient Bodies,” Artwest Gallery, Seattle, WA
  • 2015     “Healing Through Art: A Collaborative Exhibition,” Paul Robeson Galleries, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey, Newark, NJ 
  • 2015     “Faculty Show,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, WA
  • 2015     “2015 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA
  • 2014     “Interactive,” VALA Art Center, Redmond Town Center, Redmond, WA
  • 2014     “2014 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA        
  • 2013     “The Seattle Sketchbook Show,” Gage Academy, Seattle, WA
  • 2013     “Spiritual Practice: Meditation on Faith,” Manresa Gallery, University of San Francisco, CA
  • 2013     “Creation,” St. James Cathedral Chapel, Seattle, WA
  • 2013     “2013 Small Works, Big Presents,” White River Valley Museum, Auburn, WA 
  • 2012     “Faculty Show,” Kinsey Gallery, Seattle University, WA

AWARDS / SCHOLARSHIPS / GRANTS

  • 2015       The People’s Choice Award, “Chair 1,” White River Valley Museum, WA 
  • 2015       The Institute for Catholic Thought and Culture Faculty Research Grants, Seattle University, WA         
  • 2015 “Featured Artist,” Community Art Project, Redmond Arts Festival, WA 
  • 2014       The Endowed Mission Fund for Advancing the Jesuit and Catholic Mission, Seattle University, WA
  • 2001       Grace and Walter Byron Smith Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

RESIDENCIES

  • 2017     St. Joseph’s College, Bangalore, India
  • 2016     Grunewald Guild, Leavenworth, WA
  • 2015     Fuller Theological Institute, Seattle, WA

CURATION

  • 2016-18    “Search for Meaning Art Exhibition,” Seattle University, WA

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

  • 2012-Current         Associate Professor, Art and Art History Department, Seattle University, WA 
  • 2006-08                 Lecturer, Art and Art History Department, Santa Clara University, CA

LECTURES / PRESENTATIONS / TALKS

  • 2017        “Rupture Wonder,” Making Now 2017 Biennial Conference, Azusa Pacific University, CA
  • 2016        “Postmodern Icons? The Catholic Imagination in the Visual Arts Today,” Seattle University, WA
  • 2015        “The Ultimate Meaning of Extreme Beauty,” Ultimate Reality and Meaning Biennial 2015, University of Toronto, Canada
  • 2015        “What’s New in the Arts?” The Alumni Seminar Series Spring 2015, Seattle University, WA
  • 2015        “Extreme Beauty: Experiencing God Through Art,” Crossroad Lecture Series, Portland, OR 
  • 2014        (trans)FORMATION Worship Conference, “Transforming Beauty,” The Arts and The Renewal of Christian Imagination, Fuller College, Seattle, WA
  • 2013        Colleagues in Jesuit Education, An Approach to Visual Art at Seattle University, “Extreme Beauty,” Seattle, WA
  • 2013        The International Conference of social Theory, Politics and the Arts (STP&A Conference), “Original Artwork in the Digital Era,” Seattle, WA
  • 2013        Artist’s Discussion: “Spiritual Practice: Meditations on Faith,” University of San Francisco, CA 

PUBLICATION

  • “The Chapel of St. Ignatius, Seattle University: A Gathering of Different Lights,” Sculpture Review, Winter 13 vol. LXII No.4, 2014

WORKS IN EXHIBITION CATALOGUES

  • “Rupture Wonder: Paintings by Trung Pham,” Art Space Vincennes LLC, Vincennes, IN
  • “Spiritual Practices: Meditations on Faith, The Manresa Gallery,” San Francisco, CA
  • “Creation, An Exhibit in the Cathedral Chapel,” April-June 2013, St. James Cathedral, Seattle, WA

BIBLIOGRAPHY / PRESS

  • Fugile, Gordon L., “Ways of Proceeding, The Artistry of Three Contemporary Jesuits,” Image, Winter 2017 Number 95  
  • Fernandes, Sandra. “Everyday Objects Come to Life in Soap Carvings,” Bangalore Times, July 17, 2017
  • Klaas, Mark. “Priest, Teacher and Artist Shape Winning Entry,” Auburn-Reporter, Dec 17, 2015
  • Hanvey, James.  “The Re-Composition of Place: Theological Reflections on Spiritual Practices,” News of University of San Francisco, February 14, 2013

COMMUNITY SERVICE / VOLUNTEER EXPERIENCE

  • 2016-Present         Advisory Committee, Tsutakawa Art Gallery, Wing Luke Museum, WA
  • 2016-Present         Community Advisory Committees, Little Saigon Crosswalks and Little Saigon Pocket Park projects, Seattle, WA
  • 2015-2018             Regional Chaplain of Vietnamese Eucharistic Youth Movement in the Northwest Region of USA