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Bountiful • When artist Van Chu came to Utah in 2001 from his hometown of Hanoi, Vietnam, he was immediately struck by the overwhelming sensation of opposites.
In Hanoi, it was crowded and congested, but he was among family. In Utah, there were wide-open spaces, but he knew virtually no one.
"There was loneliness and isolation," he said.
And so, his art was born.
The 28-year-old was studying art at the University of Utah when he decided to explore what it meant to be living and yet to be truly alone. He picked the image of a tree as the common thread through all of his art, usually having it stand alone amid open and sometimes chaotic backdrops.
Two of his works hang on the walls of the Bountiful Art Center as part of a group show centered around the theme of international art. Emma Dugal, the center's executive director, said Chu's art for the better part of a decade made him a natural fit for the event.
"I just fell in love with his work," Dugal said. "And with our international theme going, he was one of the first that came to mind."
Chu's main piece features swirls of black acrylic paint on a long, narrow photo print. In it, he had the tree as well as what look to be mushroom clouds. He said in Chinese art — a heavy influence for him growing up in Vietnam — a lot is tied to the philosophy of the yin and yang.
The tree, he said, is symbolic of life and the mushroom clouds represent death. He also said mushrooms are fungi that consume dead trees but allow life to spring forth again.
The art also has a violent, unsettled feel to it. He said that grew out of the turmoil he was experiencing in his own life that included a new marriage and expecting a first child.
"I was worried and stressed," he said. "It came through in the piece."
Most of his pieces are personal, but he said he never thought about being an artist until he came to Utah in December 2001.
He originally thought to study architecture or computers, but the gnawing need to express himself sent him to his artistic side. He said his biological father, whom he last saw when he was just five, was also a painter, and Chu believes he got some of that artistic bent from him. He now teaches photography at the University of Utah.
While most of Chu's art features the tree in it — he said it represents him in all of his pieces — he also said he's ready to branch out and use other symbols in his art.
"I might put it aside and try some other things," he said. "I've been using it for a while now."
Twitter: @davemontero
Note: A version of this story was published in the Davis County Closeup section. —
Art, through an international lens
What • The work of Vietnamese native Van Chu will be on display, along with that of artists from Russia, Japan, Mexico, France and New Zealand, will through Sept. 2.
Where • Bountiful Art Center, 745 S. Main St., Bountiful