Hello, I'm Giao

Pronounced "YAO"

Artist Statement

In every piece I make, I think of my audience, the communities I serve, and the purpose of the art. I like to incorporate a bit of personality; either my own or of the audience I am creating my art for. Especially as a Vietnamese-American person, I think deeply about spreading cultural awareness and education about my heritage. Some of this inspiration comes from my childhood, aspects of growing up in an Asian household, or even in a multicultural community. I always aspire to create something new based on inspiration I see from other artists that productively make amazing pieces of art every day. As I am refining my practice, I hope to someday, build a collection of my art.

Personal Biography

My name is Giao Nguyen. I was born in Vietnam and was raised in San Jose, California at a very young age. While living in San Jose, I had the opportunity to live in a multicultural area that is heavily populated with people of color and different backgrounds. Throughout my life as a Vietnamese-American, I’ve been exposed to a community that celebrates national holidays and cultural holidays such as Lunar New Year. These experiences would later influence my art. Outside of my cultural background, I graduated from Yerba Buena High School and started attending the University of the Pacific as a biochemistry major. Throughout the pandemic, I found myself struggling with the subject, while enjoying the art I was doing on the side, a lot more. Eventually, after almost three years of studying as a science major, I finally transitioned into becoming a studio art major. Ever since, I have been doing better than ever, as well as learning much more about the dexterity of my art.

Artist Biography

Starting at a very young age, I began my art journey with painting and drawing. In my childhood, my mom enrolled me in an art class for a few weeks. I felt inspired seeing the older kids painting extravagant portraits and scenic paintings. Throughout my adolescent years, I was a student in my leadership class where I was tasked with creating large scale posters and flyers for my school. I also took a few art classes in middle school. In highschool, in addition to being in the leadership class, I started my own small business painting commissioned Hydroflasks and canvases for my peers. From there, I also experimented with graphic design and made my own stickers. In the height of the pandemic, my small business grew! I also painted on shoes, coasters, and more. Adding on, I was very interested in making miniature dioramas and objects out of simple materials like hot glue, wood, and beads, whatever was available at my disposal. Half way through college, I decided to change my major from biochemistry to studio art. Since then, aside from being a formal art student, I grew to learn my different abilities as an artist and explore my style more than ever.

Artist Influence,
Kasey Golden

One artist that I would like to mention is Kasey Golden. I first discovered Kasey on Youtube while I was scrolling on art videos. I enjoyed watching her quirky content and seeing how she uses watercolor. I was heavily inspired by her mark-making, color choices, and character design. A lot of her work consists of line work to create texture, something I am very much interested in. Being influenced by Kasey also helped me understand how watercolor works better. Some of her videos on her channel does various drawing prompts, product swatches and tests, and more. I admire her work a lot because she uses both traditional and digital mediums. A link to her website and channel can be found down below.

Website

Youtube Channel