ABOUT ME
Born and raised in Vietnam, Mai Tran is a Minneapolis-based printmaker and photographer. Her research and creative practice explore connections between cultures, mythology, human, and non-human interactions, and environmental transformation.
Tran has exhibited in solo and juried exhibitions in Vietnam, Thailand, Germany, Sweden, Puerto Rico, and the United States. Her work is included in the permanent collections of the University of Minnesota, the Minnesota Historical Society, the University of South Dakota–Vermillion, as well as private collections. She has been featured in newspapers and television programs in both Minnesota and Vietnam. Her work has also appeared in public art projects, including a billboard installation on Minnesota State Highway 22 and Art on Hennepin in Minneapolis.
Tran holds an MFA in Printmaking at the University of Minnesota-Twincities, an MA and a BFA in Printmaking and Photography from Minnesota State University, Mankato.
ARTIST STATEMENT
Through traditional printmaking, I explore adaptation, coexistence, and communication across cultures, species, and environments. I use printmaking as a bridge between histories and places, opening space for alternative forms of belonging. My work unfolds visual narratives that linger on identity, displacement, transformation, and environmental injustice.
These narratives emerge within dreamlike worlds where Vietnamese motifs—lotus, watermelon, and café phin—surface
alongside mythical animals and ancient Lý symbols to reference a heritage increasingly threatened by erasure. Living in the American Midwest has expanded my artistic expression by bringing regional imagery such as walleye, bobcats, and winter landscapes into dialogue with inherited forms. Invented hybrid food plants grow from this intersection, acting as metaphors for adaptation and the reclamation of identity on unfamiliar soil.
More recently, my research has turned toward endangered aquatic organisms impacted by human exploitation of water systems, leading to pollution and habitat loss. By entwining cultural memory with ecological fragility, I invite reflection on interdependence, responsibility, and environmental justice.
