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Born: Lao Cai, Viet Nam. The richly-colored canvasses of Kai Hoang do not depict objects or tell stories, but rather make visible the mystery of spiritual transformation. Hoang's work has gained an international following because of his subject matters and the manner in which he renders passion on canvas.
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS (Solo Shows)
2002 SOHO INTERNATIONAL ART COMPETITION, Agora Gallery, New York, New York
2000 *RECIPIENT AAA GRANT, Francis Mill, San Francisco, California
1999 MADE IN USA, Pacific Bridge Gallery, Oakland, California
1998 *COMING AND LEAVING, San Jose Art League, San Jose California.
1997 RECENT ACQUISITION PERMANENT COLLECTION, San Jose Museum of Art.
1996 AN OCEAN APART, San Jose Museum of Art
DOUBLE VISION, Art Commission San Francisco
1993 *ECHOES, The Arts Council of Santa Clara.
THE TRANSITION, City College, San Jose. Curated by Viet Arts.
1992 20th ANNUAL EXHIBITION, San Jose Art League, San Jose. Juried by Peter Gordon.
1973 NATIONAL SPRING EXHIBITION, Saigon, Viet Nam. Sponsored by Department of Youth, Education and Culture.
1972 *SOLO EXHIBITION, Communication Center, Saigon,Viet Nam.
1970 BIENNALE EXHIBITION, Young Artists Association Center, Saigon, Viet Nam.
1969 GROUP SHOW, Alliance Française Saigon, Viet Nam.
1968 BIENNALE EXHIBITION, Young Artists Association Center, Saigon, Viet Nam.
1967 NATIONAL SPRING EXHIBITION, Communication Center Saigon, Viet Nam.
Sponsored by Department of Education and Culture.
1966 JURIED EXHIBITION, Communication Center Saigon, Viet Nam. Sponsored by Esso.
IVITATIONAL EXHIBITION, Saigon Viet Nam. Sponsored by UNESCO.
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
San Jose Museum, San Jose, California
REVIEWS
Reena Jana, "The Intuitive Eye," Asin Art News, July/August, 1999
EDUCATION
Graduated from University of Saigon, Viet Nam, 1970.
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 | Deliverance: "Deliverance" crackles with burning wood and flings warmth into the room. Here, the yearning for transformation evident in his works is finally realized. The solid and heavy masses dissolve in warmth and light; sharp white lines are regenerated as blurry pools. The boundaries between the physical and spiritual worlds are broken down, making this the artist's most comforting and peaceful vision. Although the subject of this painting is nominally cremation, an unpopular subject, Hoang's most important message is found here -- that our lives are but part of a continuum, and awareness of spirit is a cause for comfort and celebration. |
| Boundaries: Iron and fire. Large, solid objects squat heavily in different sections of the painting, lifeless and immobile. Hints of human forms appear faintly, trapped by the constructs that envelop them. Surrounding these objects are sharply delineated fields of pure color, swirls of hope and splashes of purity. The figures in the painting yearn to lose their corporality and unify with the pure spirit which burns ethereally all around them. |  |
 | Bondage: Powerful and Evocative. An irresistible force strains to pull disparate elements into one side of the frame, where they mix, fuse, and explode outwards in bursts of pure tint. The colors seem to spill sideways from the edges of the painting, as if mere space cannot contain them. The image as a whole brightens as the eye moves from the edge towards the white-hot center, where the transformation occurs. Heritage and culture tie the individual with history but at the same time provide strength, support, and character. The Eastern concept of Yin and Yang is also evident here, as is the Western artistic notion of tension and release. |
| The City by the Red Ocean: The thick gold band arrests the viewers' gaze, separating the physical world above from the spiritual world below -- a crimson life force from which the city draws its strength. Although this border is impermeable to the restless figures above, it is porous from below, allowing its power to filter upwards and stoke the furnaces of human activity. Around the top edges of the painting, chaos reigns. In the center, however, is an area of calm where a pitch-roofed temple focuses the red energy and guides it upwards in a single unwavering column for all to experience. |  |
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