Connecting the World Through Art

When Trung Pham, S.J., MFA, boarded a plane from the West Coast to Paris last fall, he was bringing some very unique carry-on luggage. Stowed carefully in the overhead bin, paint still drying, was an icon of Our Lady of La Vang, a Vietnamese interpretation of Mary and Christ that Pham had recently completed. Father Pham was en route to Lourdes, France, where his painting had been selected to be displayed at the Basilica of St. Pius X, an important pilgrimage destination for Catholics from around the world.

The chair of Seattle University’s Department of Visual Arts, Fr. Pham worked on the icon for more than three months, beginning by studying centuries of the artistic tradition of Our Lady of La Vang. Historically, he explains, the Vietnamese depiction of Mary had been based on colonial French images, but all that changed toward the end of the 20^th century.

“People in Vietnam and the diaspora began to question why it was a European image,” says Fr. Pham, who was born in Vietnam and immigrated to the U.S. in 1990. “Our perception began to change and I wanted to contribute to that conversation by creating a distinctly Vietnamese Mary. I also experimented with the posture of Jesus—now he greets the viewer instead of remaining passive—and incorporated la vang tea leaves, which, according to tradition, were Mary’s healing remedy for the persecuted.”

Once safely in Lourdes with the now-dry painting, Fr. Pham brought the icon to the cathedral where it was installed in an unveiling ceremony in front of hundreds of Vietnamese pilgrims from around the world. Now in its permanent home down a long, vaulted subterreanean corridor containing images of Mary from around the world, the icon will serve as an international destination for generations to come.  

“I’m honored to be able to share this piece with the world,” says Fr. Pham. “It is art, sure, but also has political and social implications, since La Vang embodies the story of a people who are lost and dispersed. I wanted to create a symbol of faith and hope for the Vietnamese diaspora.”No stranger to creating public art that communicates faith and solidarity, Fr. Pham’s artistic footprint spans the Pacific Northwest. His dynamic Flying Crucifix was installed in 2019 at Seattle’s St. James Cathedral, the seat of the Archdiocese of Seattle and spiritual home for thousands of Catholics.

He also created a massive relief sculpture on the exterior of the newly consecrated Vietnamese Martyrs Parish in Tukwila, Wash., commemorating the hundreds of thousands of Vietnamese Catholics killed for their faith in the 16^th and 17^th centuries. Weighing hundreds of pounds, the sculpture was constructed entirely on-site and has been celebrated as a significant piece of sacred art.

More recently, his life-size bronze sculpture of Pope Saint John XXIII was unveiled at the newly merged Pope John XXIII Parish in Tacoma, created to anchor and symbolize the parish’s renewed communal identity.

Fr. Pham’s work ranges across mediums and themes, but always finds itself at the intersection of theological, culture and social issues.

“Art can be theological,” he says. “It doesn’t have to be religious art or placed in any faith tradition at all.”

The integration of theology and art that fuels his work carries over into his vocation as an educator. In addition to teaching classes and mentoring art students, Fr. Pham regularly leads students on first Thursday art walks in Seattle. He was integral in the recycled-materials art project that produced the giant whimsical wooden animals that populate campus spaces, which he describes as an explicit artistic response to the environmental crisis.

“I am many things—artist, priest, immigrant and teacher,” says Fr. Pham, who was ordained as a Jesuit priest in 2012. “I'm a firm believer in the civic, ecclesiastical, cultural, pastoral and social mission of the Jesuits and am grateful that my work at Seattle University allows me to incorporate all of these.”

Fr. Pham’s current exhibition at Pioneer Square’s SOIL Gallery, Cut/Stitch/Liminal, is part of a group show marking the 50th anniversary of the end of the Vietnam War. His contribution, Liminal, represents a rupture and draws from the “in-between” experience of migration.

“This new piece represents an integration of all parts of my identity,” says Fr. Pham. “Even though there is pain and rupture, there is also a sacred space for growth and new life.”

Even after the full-throttle pace of the past few years, Fr. Pham has no plans to slow down his artistic output. He has been commissioned to create another bronze sculpture of Our Lady of La Vang for Christ the King Parish in San Jose, Calif. and will be presenting lectures throughout the year, including at the Boston College for the Ricci Institute as invited guest speaker and at SU’s Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement as a Faculty Fellow.

Cut/Stitch/Liminal runs through January 17 at SOIL Gallery (112 3^rd Ave. South, Seattle.) And check out more of Fr. Pham’s work on his Instagram @trungphamstudio and website.