LIZ TRAN | Hilltop Elementary Mural | My Edmonds News

Art Beat feature: Hilltop Elementary unveils a mural of belonging

Posted: May 18, 2023

Principal Melissa Somoza and artist Liz Tran posing by their new mural with the Hilltop Student Council.

“This is the first time we have ever done an outside assembly,” Hilltop Elementary Principal Melissa Somoza told the sea of waiting students. “Hopefully, you know why you’re here today, this started because of you.”

The courtyard at the Lynnwood school was full of students, staff and representatives from the Edmonds School District gathered for an unveiling of a mural that was created in partnership with community grants, donations and PTSA funds.

The Hilltop Mural Club unveiling the mural.

Part of the school’s writing curriculum involves sending letters to Somoza on what students think could be different. In multiple letters, students asked to create a mural.

When the school decided to go ahead with the mural project, Somoza reached out to Tran over social media. Somoza saw local artist Liz Tran’s art in an Edmonds gallery years ago and fell in love with her style. “I’ve always thought ‘this is such kid-friendly art,’” she said. “It’s imperfect, its bright colors, every piece is unique. All the things that would make kids feel successful in art.” When she reached out, she thought, “there’s no way. She’s going to say no, but then she said yes! She’s been amazing. It has been an amazing experience and has brought our kids confidence as artists and in feeling a part of something.”

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Liz Tran and Melissa Somoza

Tran truly seems in her element with the students. She has worked with student artists before, but it was her first time helping children with a mural. “Working with kids is more fun,” she said. “They’re really creative and open and very honest. As adults we filter ourselves a lot, both creatively and in every way as a society. Kids don’t have that quite yet. There is a lack of self judgment.”

The mural

Tran says of the mural’s design: “We went with a tree. I have a strong connection to trees and the kids have a connection to trees, too. I mean, we’re from the Pacific Northwest. The tree represents Hilltop and the branches represent students.” Five hundred-plus students participated. She had each student artist paint a wooden circle with a design that represents themselves. Across the bottom, Tran added the words “We Belong at HIlltop,” which captures the school’s theme for the year, “Belonging.” The final product also includes a sound element from sonic architectural firm Memory is a Game. The firm incorporated audio from students as they created the mural to capture their thinking throughout the process.

“We Belong at Hilltop”

The school put together a mural club of students with an interest in art who also helped Tran paint the top of the tree. One student, fifth grader Violet Melllich, said she was drawn to participate in the mural club because “I like to do art on furniture. When I heard they were doing a mural club, I was like, ’oh my God I want to do it so bad.’”

Sixth grader Narayan Mitra wanted to join the mural club because “I have a huge passion about art. I really like to draw characters from games I’ve played. I just love to draw and make art, so I was really hyped about this. I was really glad when I joined. It was so much fun.”

Narayan went on to describe what he learned from the experience: “Being in more than other ways of art is really nice and really fun. And lots of other people can feel really connected to it.”

There certainly is a connection to the mural, beyond the students and teachers. There were many participants in the mural’s creation. Jennifer Blackstone, who is the school’s art docent, galvanized parent volunteers to help students paint their contributions. Additionally, the PTSA also provided support. Parent Julia Reynolds, whose daughter Jolie is a third grader at Hilltop, explained the PTSA’s involvement. “We had a grants program this year, so when Melissa brought this idea for a mural project with [Tran] we absolutely were right on board with it,” Reynolds said. “Our mission as a PTSA is to support the students and the community. This felt like an appropriate project to participate in, especially in supporting the arts.”

A closeup of some of the student circles.

With encouragement from Tran, who also fundraised for the project, the PTSA created an arts fund that will be used on a grant basis. Fundraising that is done beyond the cost of the mural will go into the arts fund. Readers who wish to donate can access the school’s PayPal here. Read more about the stages of the mural project on Hilltop’s smore page.

What’s next for Tran? She says the project “makes me want to teach, honestly. I’m thinking about programs in the future and replicating this. It’s so meaningful and has got to be the most rewarding project I’ve done, at least in a very long time.”

Melissa Samoza and Liz Tran, posing with the Hilltop Student Council

— By Elizabeth Murray

Photo by Brittany Gross

Elizabeth Murray is a freelance writer thankful to call Edmonds home. When she’s not busy wrangling her two kids (and husband), you can find her playing ukulele and singing with The Band LeLe.

Available artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN interviewed in ART PLUGGED

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Liz Tran’s Rorschach-Inspired Inkblots Explore The Human Psyche And Imagination

Artist Interviews

·

Last updated:January 17, 2023

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Seattle-based artist Liz Tran’s practice is an immersive exploration into the depths of the human psyche and imagination, making her work a feast for the eyes as much as it is for the soul. Tran’s adept use of colours, dots, circles, blots, and splashes is like looking into a kaleidoscope. You see something new, a provocative experience that challenges perspective every time you look.

Liz Tran

I have a childhood memory of taking the Rorschach test and it made a lasting impression. The inkblots in the test are ambiguous and open to interpretationLiz Tran

Her past exhibition, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille at Morton Fine Art in collaboration with Homme DC in December last year, was inspired by Tran’s memories of being administered Rorschach tests. A psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots. In this body of work, Tran transforms disparate monochromatic prints into a captivating narrative of technicolour panels, a testament to her artistic prowess. Tran’s work features in public collections that include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection, Capital One, and Vulcan Inc.

In this interview, we learn more about the Seattle-based artist practice, creative process and more.

Q: Hi Liz, can you please introduce yourself? Can you share a little bit about your background and who you are as an artist?

Liz Tran: I emerged into the world on the hottest day of summer in Oregon’s Willamette Valley. I hold no memory of a time when creating was not a part of my
life—Play-Doh sculptures and sand castle landscapes later morphed into massive
paintings and installations.

Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille installation view
Courtesy Morton Fine Art. Photo credit: Jarrett Hendrix

Q: In some ways your art functions as a sort of anti- Rorschach or positive- Rorschach test, stripped of the pathological assessment that defined the original test. Can you speak into your appropriation of the form, how you came to the Rorschach test? The work in this series seems to operate on a number of levels, from colorful and invigorating to slyly subversive.

Liz Tran: I have a childhood memory of taking the Rorschach test and it made a lasting impression. The inkblots in the test are ambiguous and open to interpretation, which encourages viewers to consider their own subjectivity and how it influences their understanding of the art.

The Rorschach test has a long history and has been the subject of much debate and discussion within the field of psychology. By appropriating the form of the test, I’m exploring these themes and inviting viewers to approach it with an open mind, minus the intention of diagnosis, which, historically speaking, was often incorrect.

Liz Tran Baby Father, 2019 24 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Q: Your work places generous emphasis on the self: self-knowledge, self-reflection, arguably self-care. How do you encourage and deepen these gestures to the self in a body of work that originates from a rather impersonal, profoundly analytical test?

Liz Tran: It’s true that the Rorschach test is often associated with psychological analysis and assessment, and it is typically administered by a trained evaluator in a clinical setting. However, the use of the Rorschach test in art can be a way to invite
self-reflection and exploration of the self in a more personal and artistic context.

Liz Tran
Mirror 11, 2020
12 x 12 in. Mixed media on panel
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Q: How do you view art? Buried in these works is the idea that there is no “correct way”to understand and engage with art. I’m interested in how you engage.

Liz Tran: I primarily engage with art and art making from the place of intuition and
feeling, later taking into consideration the context of the artist’s intentions and the cultural and historical context in which it was created. Keeping in mind that there are many different ways to engage with art, it’s important to remember that there is no “right” or “wrong” way to do so.

Q: What are your thoughts about abstraction? Obviously, you work in this mode, but your art nevertheless seems to be critically alert to how we talk about and look at abstraction (art)?

Liz Tran: Abstraction can be a very effective way for artists to explore and express complex ideas and emotions, allowing for a wide range of interpretations by the viewer. It can also be a way for artists to challenge traditional notions of representation and encourage viewers to consider the art in a more open-ended and subjective way.

Heirloom, 2022 Mixed media fiber collage installation 198 x 53 in.
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Q: Heirloom has a delightful origin. Can you tell us the inspiration behind this piece, how long it took to complete, and its meaning? What was it like working with your mother on the piece?

Liz Tran: I have memories of sitting in church and staring at the oversized, colorful
wall hangings in the otherwise monochromatic space. This imagery definitely played a part in creating my own, non-denominational textile.

Heirloom is a large wall hanging composed of various bodies of work and pieces of installations completed over the past decade. The binding is my matriarchal grandmother’s tablecloth, cut up and dyed with turmeric and the entire piece is sewn together by my mother. Heirloom serves as a marker of my career as an artist, while simultaneously serving as a tribute to the women who came before me.

Liz Tran
Cosmic Circle 1, 2020 24 x 24
in.Mixed media on panel
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Q: What’s next for you as an artist?

Liz Tran: I’ll continue to follow my curiosity to worlds beyond explanation.

Learn more about Liz Tran

©2023 Liz Tran, Morton Fine Art

Len Gordon

Len is a curator and writer at Art Plugged, a contemporary platform inspired by a passion for showcasing exceptional artists and their work he also studying an MFA in Curating at Goldsmiths London.

Available artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN | Interlocutor Magazine | Artist and Curatorial Statements

INTERLOCUTOR

Dec 20

Exhibition Feature – MATRIARCHS AND DAUGHTERS DREAM OCEANS OF BRAILLE by Liz Tran

Exhibition Features, Visual Artists

Photos by Jarrett Hendrix

Morton Fine Art, in collaboration with Homme DC, is pleased to present Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille, an exhibition of polychromatic inkblot prints and Heirloom (2022), a new 17-foot wall-mounted installation, by artist Liz Tran. Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille will be on view by appointment through January 6, 2023 at Homme DC’s Washington, D.C. space (2000 L ST NW). 

Inspired by early memories of the artist being administered Rorschach tests — a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots — Tran transforms and transports the familiar monochromatic prints into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille is an explosion of colorful dots, circles, blot, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto.

Heirloom, 2022 (Work in progress image) – Mixed media fiber collage installation, 198 x 53 in.

Mirror 32, 2021 – 24 x 18 in. Mixed media on panel

CURATORIAL STATEMENT – by Amy Morton

Exuberant and cerebral, Liz Tran is nationally recognized and well-known in her home city of Seattle, Washington. Conjuring a world of vibrant, technicolor visions, she explores the nature of viewer subjectivity. A generous and open artist, her current solo exhibition, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille, feels like a gift of connection —  almost a theme, this sort of connection continues the spirit of my gallery’s collaboration with Homme DC (in the exhibit’s presentation). This collaboration goes a step further in the form of Liz Tran’s spectacular installation piece Heirloom, which she lovingly completed with her mother.

17-feet long, Heirloom is composed of fabric drawn from her travels, memories and installations from around the world, including the curtains of a circus tent, an oversized fiber womb encased in a vintage trailer and a space suit onesie. The piece was sewn by her quilt-making mother, with whom Tran often collaborates. Tran’s work often places the self at the center, valuing self-knowledge and self-care. With Heirloom, Tran honors her mother and all the generations of women who came before her. Love and devotion seem to be at the center of Heirloom.

Cosmic Circle 1, 2020 – 24 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel

Baby Father, 2019 – 24 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel

ARTIST STATEMENT – by Liz Tran

My maternal grandmother Joyce would be thrilled by the knowledge that my mother and I: dissected her pristine white tablecloth, stained it with turmeric and affixed it to my current installation, Heirloom. Like many grandmothers, Joyce was a little different. Meant for a lively life in the city, she managed to play the role of a farmer’s wife somewhat convincingly, but I often wonder what her story would have been like if she had been born into my generation. Her spirit’s foundational support of my beautifully unconventional life is forever present. I aim to make her proud, in my art and my life.

Mirror 5, 2020 – 27 x 54 in. Mixed media on panel

Mirror 8, 2020 – 54 x 27 in. Mixed media on panel

Cosmic Circle 3, 2020 – 24 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel

Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille will be on view by appointment through January 6, 2023 at Homme DC’s Washington, D.C. space (2000 L ST NW). 

Check out our coverage of other current and recent art exhibitions

All images courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Tyler Nesler

Morton Fine Art, Liz Tran, Tyler Nesler, DC Gallery, Mixed Media, Fiber Arts, Contemporary Art, Modern Art, Inkblot prints, Installations

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN | Art Plugged

Liz Tran: Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille

Exhibitions

·

Last updated:December 8, 2022

Liz Tran: Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille
December 9, 2022 to January 6, 2023
Homme DC
2000 L ST NW
Washington, DC 20036
US

Morton Fine Art, in collaboration with Homme DC, is pleased to present Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille, an exhibition of polychromatic inkblot prints and Heirloom (2022), a new 17-foot wall-mounted installation, by artist Liz Tran. Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille will be on view by appointment from December 9, 2022 to January 6, 2023 at Homme DC’s Washington, D.C. space (2000 L ST NW).

Liz Tran Baby Father, 201924 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Inspired by early memories of the artist being administered Rorschach tests — a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots — Tran transforms and transports the familiar monochromatic prints into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille is an explosion of colorful dots, circles, blot, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto.

Varying her compositions from symmetrical renderings–like a Rorschach print–to others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

Liz Tran – Heirloom, 2022 Mixed media fiber collage installation 198 x 53 in.
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Lovingly sewn by her quilt-making mother, with whom Tran often collaborates, Heirloom encapsulates fabric culled from voyages, memories and installations created around the world. Tran views Heirloom as an homage to her artistic practice and a tribute to the women who came before her. From the curtains of a circus tent, an oversized fiber womb encased in a vintage trailer or a space suit onesie–each piece of fabric contains a distinct story.

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Liz Tran
Mirror 8, 202054 x 27 in.
Mixed media on panel
Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

Learn more about Liz Tran

©2022 Liz Tran, Morton Fine Art

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

Art plugged

Art Plugged is a contemporary platform inspired by a relationship with the broader arts communities. We provide our audience with curated insight into the world of art, from exhibitions to artist interviews and more.

LIZ TRAN | See Great Art

ART IN THE NORTHEAST FEMALE ARTISTS

Liz Tran art exhibition in Washington, D.C.

BY CHADD SCOTTPOSTED ON DECEMBER 4, 20220 COMMENTS

Liz Tran, Mirror 28, 2020. 16 x 16 in. Mixed media on panel. Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist.

Morton Fine Art, in collaboration with Homme DC, presents “Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille,” an exhibition of polychromatic ink blot prints and Heirloom (2022), a new 17-foot wall-mounted installation of Liz Tran art. “Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille” will be on view by appointment from December 9, 2022, to January 6, 2023 at Homme DC’s Washington, D.C. space (2000 L ST NW).

Inspired by early memories of the artist being administered Rorschach tests — a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots — Liz Tran art transforms and transports the familiar monochromatic prints into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. Featuring work from her “Mirror and Cosmic Circle” series, “Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille” is an explosion of colorful dots, circles, blot, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto.

Varying her compositions from symmetrical renderings–like a Rorschach print–to others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Liz Tran art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

Lovingly sewn by her quilt-making mother, with whom Tran often collaborates, Heirloom encapsulates fabric culled from voyages, memories and installations created around the world. Tran views Heirloom as an homage to her artistic practice and a tribute to the women who came before her. From the curtains of a circus tent, an oversized fiber womb encased in a vintage trailer or a space suit onesie–each piece of fabric contains a distinct story.

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” Liz Tran said. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, “Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille” actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

About the Artist

Liz Tran (b. 1979) explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues, channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang.

Morton Fine Art

Founded in 2010 in Washington D.C. by curator Amy Morton, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is a fine art gallery and curatorial group that collaborates with art collectors and visual artists to inspire fresh ways of acquiring contemporary art. Firmly committed to the belief that art collecting can becultivated through an educational stance, MFA’s mission is to provide accessibility to museum-quality contemporary art through a combination of substantive exhibitions and a welcoming platform for dialogue and exchange of original voice.

Morton Fine Art specializes in a stellar roster of nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as has an additional focus on artwork of the African Diaspora.

Homme DC is a boutique for emerging artists of all disciplines. Homme provides a platform for artists to exhibit and sell their art in an intimate gallery experience.

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN | Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille | Morton Fine Art in collaboration with HOMME Gallery | Martin Cid Magazine

Liz Tran: Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille – HOMME Gallery (Washington D.C.)

Creating a meditative and healing atmosphere, Tran’s new exhibition encourages personal interpretation

BY ART MARTIN CID MAGAZINE

DECEMBER 5, 2022

What Do You See? Liz Tran’s Appropriations of the Rorschach Test Examine The Nature Of Viewer Subjectivity

Washington, D.C. – Morton Fine Art, in collaboration with Homme DC, is pleased to present Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille, an exhibition of polychromatic inkblot prints and Heirloom (2022), a new 17-foot wall-mounted installation, by artist Liz Tran. Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille will be on view by appointment from December 9, 2022 to January 6, 2023 at Homme DC’s Washington, D.C. space (2000 L ST NW).

Liz Tran Mirror 1, 2020 27 x 54 in. Mixed media on panel Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Inspired by early memories of the artist being administered Rorschach tests — a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots — Tran transforms and transports the familiar monochromatic prints into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille is an explosion of colorful dots, circles, blot, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto.

Varying her compositions from symmetrical renderings–like a Rorschach print–to others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the

well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

Liz Tran Cosmic Circle 1, 2020 24 x 24 in. Mixed media on panel Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Lovingly sewn by her quilt-making mother, with whom Tran often collaborates, Heirloom encapsulates fabric culled from voyages, memories and installations created around the world. Tran views Heirloom as an homage to her artistic practice and a tribute to the women who came before her. From the curtains of a circus tent, an oversized fiber womb encased in a vintage trailer or a space suit onesie–each piece of fabric contains a distinct story.

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, Matriarchs and Daughters Dream Oceans of Braille actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning.

Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

Liz Tran headshot Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist. Photo credit: Liz Tran

Liz Tran (b. 1979) explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues, channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang. Public collections of Tran’s work include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection; Capital One; Vulcan Inc.; Baer Art Center; Camac Art Centre; The El Paso Children’s

Hospital; Harborview Medical Center, Seattle; and The King County Public Art Collection. Tran has completed multiple special projects and installations, including work for VH1 Save the Music Foundation, The Upstream Music Fest, The Seattle Art Museum, The Brain Project Toronto, Public Art at The Aqua Art Fair Miami and Vulcan Inc.

She has been awarded multiple fellowships and grants, including a Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) from Artist Trust, Clowes Fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, the Nellie Cornish Scholarship and residency at The Camac Art Centre in France, The Baer Art Center in Iceland, Jentel Foundation, Millay Colony for the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She resides in Seattle, WA. Tran has been represented by Morton Fine Art since 2020.

Liz Tran Mirror 6, 2020 27 x 54 in. Mixed media on panel Courtesy Morton Fine Art and the artist

Morton Fine Art

Founded in 2010 in Washington D.C. by curator Amy Morton, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is a fine art gallery and curatorial group that collaborates with art collectors and visual artists to inspire fresh ways of acquiring contemporary art. Firmly committed to the belief that art collecting can be cultivated through an educational stance, MFA’s mission is to provide accessibility to museum-quality contemporary art through a combination of substantive exhibitions and a welcoming platform for dialogue and exchange of original voice. Morton Fine Art specializes in a stellar roster of nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as has an additional focus on artwork of the African Diaspora.

Homme DC is a boutique for emerging artists of all disciplines. Homme provides a platform for artists to exhibit and sell their art in an intimate gallery experience.

Homme DC

2000 L ST NW, Washington, DC

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN featured in Create! Magazine

0May 27

Liz Tran’s Solo Exhibition At Morton Fine Art: Abstract Artwork Inspired By Rorschach Test Explores Mental Health, Perception, And Subjectivity

Liz Tran, Ornament 7 (2016), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

Morton Fine Art’s most recent solo exhibition presents new mixed-media works by Seattle-based artist Liz Tran. Bringing together the visual arts and psychology, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams contemplates the relationship between abstraction and personal perception. The exhibition is inspired by early memories of the artist being administered the Rorschach test, a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots. Through Tran’s imagination, these monochromatic inkblot prints are transformed into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity.

Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Tran creates canvases with explosions of colorful dots, circles, blots, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto. Some symmetrical–like a Rorschach print–and others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

Liz Tran, Cosmic Circle 2 (2020), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said artist Liz Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

Liz Tran, Ornament 15 (2016), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

Liz Tran

Liz Tran, Ornament 7 (2016), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

Morton Fine Art’s most recent solo exhibition presents new mixed-media works by Seattle-based artist Liz Tran. Bringing together the visual arts and psychology, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams contemplates the relationship between abstraction and personal perception. The exhibition is inspired by early memories of the artist being administered the Rorschach test, a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots. Through Tran’s imagination, these monochromatic inkblot prints are transformed into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity.

Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Tran creates canvases with explosions of colorful dots, circles, blots, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto. Some symmetrical–like a Rorschach print–and others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

Liz Tran, Cosmic Circle 2 (2020), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said artist Liz Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

Liz Tran, Ornament 15 (2016), 24 x 24 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

Liz Tran

Liz Tran Artist Biography

Channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang, Tran explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues. Public collections of Tran’s work include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection, Capital One, Vulcan Inc., Baer Art Center, Camac Art Centre, The El Paso Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, The King County Public Art Collection and The Child Center. Tran has completed multiple special projects and installations, including work for VH1Save the Music Foundation, The Upstream Music Fest, The Seattle Art Museum, The Brain Project Toronto, Public Art at The Aqua Art Fair Miami and Vulcan Inc. She has been awarded multiple fellowships and grants; including a Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) from Artist Trust, Clowes Fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, the Nellie Cornish Scholarship and residency at The Camac Art Centre in France, The Baer Art Center in Iceland, Jentel, Millay Colony for the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She resides in Seattle, WA. She has been represented by Morton Fine Art since 2020.

Liz Tran, Mirror 32 (2020), 24 x 18 in, Mixed media on panel, Courtesy of the artist and Morton Fine Art

About Morton Fine Art

Founded in 2010 in Washington, DC by curator Amy Morton, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is a fine art gallery and curatorial group that collaborates with art collectors and visual artists to inspire fresh ways of acquiring contemporary art. Firmly committed to the belief that art collecting can be cultivated through an educational stance, MFA’s mission is to provide accessibility to museum-quality contemporary art through a combination of substantive exhibitions and a welcoming platform for dialogue and exchange of original voice. Morton Fine Art specializes in a stellar roster of nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as has an additional focus on artwork of the African Diaspora. Morton Fine Art founded the trademark *a pop-up project in 2010. *a pop-up project is MFA’s mobile gallery component which hosts temporary curated exhibitions nationally.

Alicia Puig

Art, Articles, Exhibitions

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN reviewed in The Washington Post

“Mirror Three” by Liz Tran combines drips, spatters and ink on wooden panels with equal measures of abandon and precision. (Morton Fine Art)

Liz Tran

by Mark Jenkins,

May 21, 2021 at 7:00 a.m. EDT

Seattle artist Liz Tran drips and spatters candy-colored paint and ink on wooden panels with equal measures of abandon and precision. The abstract pictures in her Morton Fine Art show, “The Webs Installed by Our Dreams,” offer vigorous spontaneity and robust compositions, the latter often inspired by Rorschach test inkblots administered to her when she was a child. Yet minor tweaks to Tran’s formula yield very different effects.

Most of the paintings are rectangular and rendered on white backdrops. Even the loosest of them seem focused on a middle point, but that centeredness is accentuated in the two pictures on circular panels. Adding a colored background, especially the black of “Ornament 7,” also makes Tran’s free gestures more cohesive. So does moving the pictorial activity to the top of the frame in “Bluescape.”

One other painting offers a fruitful variation. “Big Bang 3” is hardly out of place in this selection, but its oscillating, concentric forms suggest something quite different from a Rorschach test inkblot: a Hindu or Buddhist mandala. Rather than one person’s untidy reveries, the picture evokes an orderly cosmos.

Liz Tran: The Webs Installed by Our Dreams Through May 27 at Morton Fine Art, 52 O St. NW, No. 302. Open by appointment.

Available Artwork by LIZ TRAN

LIZ TRAN’s solo “The Webs Installed by Our Dreams” at Morton Fine Art

The Webs Installed by Our Dreams

A solo exhibition of mixed media artwork by LIZ TRAN

April 29 – May 27, 2021

Video credit: Jarrett Hendrix

Contact the gallery for private viewing appointment, price list, additional information and acquisition. (202) 628-2787 (call or text) info@mortonfineart.com

Available artwork by LIZ TRAN

About The Webs Installed by Our Dreams:

The Webs Installed by Our Dreams, is inspired by LIZ TRAN’s early memories of being administered the Rorschach test, a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots. Through Tran’s imagination, these monochromatic inkblot prints are transformed into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. The Webs Installed by Our Dreams will be on view from April 29 – May 27, 2021. Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Tran creates canvases with explosions of colorful dots, circles, blots, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto. Some symmetrical–like a Rorschach print–and others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge.

“As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said artist Liz Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”

Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

About LIZ TRAN:

Channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang, Tran explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues. Public collections of Tran’s work include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection, Capital One, Vulcan Inc., Baer Art Center, Camac Art Centre, The El Paso Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, The King County Public Art Collection and The Child Center.

Tran has completed multiple special projects and installations, including work for VH1Save the Music Foundation, The Upstream Music Fest, The Seattle Art Museum, The Brain Project Toronto, Public Art at The Aqua Art Fair Miami and Vulcan Inc. She has been awarded multiple fellowships and grants; including a Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) from Artist Trust, Clowes Fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, the Nellie Cornish Scholarship and residency at The Camac Art Centre in France, The Baer Art Center in Iceland, Jentel, Millay Colony for the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She resides in Seattle, WA. She has been represented by Morton Fine Art since 2020.

About Morton Fine Art:

Founded in 2010 in Washington, DC by curator Amy Morton, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is a fine art gallery and curatorial group that collaborates with art collectors and visual artists to inspire fresh ways of acquiring contemporary art. Firmly committed to the belief that art collecting can be cultivated through an educational stance, MFA’s mission is to provide accessibility to museum-quality contemporary art through a combination of substantive exhibitions and a welcoming platform for dialogue and exchange of original voice. Morton Fine Art specializes in a stellar roster of nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as has an additional focus on artwork of the African Diaspora.

Morton Fine Art 52 O St NW #302​ Washington, DC 20001

COVID-19 protocol: By appointment. Mask required. Contact the gallery for supplementary artwork documentation such as detail images and short videos. Safe, no contact door to door delivery available. Shipping nationally and internationally.

LIZ TRAN’s solo exhibition “The Webs Installed by Our Dreams”

LIZ TRAN’s abstract artwork inspired by Rorschach test explores mental health, perception and subjectivity

Visit our Website

Mirror 29, 2020, 16″x16″, mixed media on panel The Webs Installed by Our Dreams A solo exhibition of mixed media artwork by LIZ TRAN April 29 – May 27, 2021 ARTIST STUDIO TOUR On Morton Fine Art’s YouTube Channel Video credit: Jarrett Hendrix Contact the gallery for private viewing appointment, price list, additional information and acquisition. (202) 628-2787 (call or text) info@mortonfineart.com Available artwork by LIZ TRAN

About The Webs Installed by Our Dreams The Webs Installed by Our Dreams, is inspired by LIZ TRAN’s early memories of being administered the Rorschach test, a psychological evaluation of mental health and trauma through associative responses to inkblots. Through Tran’s imagination, these monochromatic inkblot prints are transformed into a world of vibrant, technicolor panels that explore the nature of viewer subjectivity. The Webs Installed by Our Dreams will be on view from April 29 – May 27, 2021.  Featuring work from her Mirror and Cosmic Circle series, Tran creates canvases with explosions of colorful dots, circles, blots, and splashes that accumulate on the panel and create a thickened impasto. Some symmetrical–like a Rorschach print–and others more liberally abstracted, Tran’s works challenge the notion of a correct way to view art. Like the well-known psychological test, Tran’s art performs an introspective function in which the viewer’s interpretation is self-reflexive and can facilitate self-knowledge. “As I found myself delving into the history of my own mental health, I began to simultaneously study perception and subjectivity both in visual art and psychology,” said artist Liz Tran. “What do we bring to what we see? The viewer’s experience of my work is completely different than my own, yet that experience is equally valid. Is what we see simply a reflection of our self?”  Opening the door into a meditative and healing atmosphere, The Webs Installed by Our Dreams actively encourages personal interpretation and projections of meaning. Through a form of abstraction that combines precision and instinct, Tran’s joyful works imagine dreamlike surfaces to question the nature of abstraction and our responses to visual stimuli, whether that be art on the white walls of a gallery or observations of planets and stars circling overhead.

Mirror 3, 2020, 27″x54″, mixed media on panel

Mirror 2, 2020, 27″x54″, mixed media on panel

About LIZ TRAN

Channeling subjects such as dream imagery, imagined landscapes, geodes, outer space and The Big Bang, Tran explores the shapes of nature, with the infusion of fantastical, pulsing synthetic hues. Public collections of Tran’s work include the City of Seattle’s Portable Works Collection, Capital One, Vulcan Inc., Baer Art Center, Camac Art Centre, The El Paso Children’s Hospital, Harborview Medical Center, The King County Public Art Collection and The Child Center. Tran has completed multiple special projects and installations, including work for VH1Save the Music Foundation, The Upstream Music Fest, The Seattle Art Museum, The Brain Project Toronto, Public Art at The Aqua Art Fair Miami and Vulcan Inc. She has been awarded multiple fellowships and grants; including a Grant for Artist Projects (GAP) from Artist Trust, Clowes Fellowship for residency at the Vermont Studio Center, the Nellie Cornish Scholarship and residency at The Camac Art Centre in France, The Baer Art Center in Iceland, Jentel, Millay Colony for the Arts and The Center for Contemporary Printmaking. She resides in Seattle, WA. She has been represented by Morton Fine Art since 2020.

About Morton Fine Art Founded in 2010 in Washington, DC by curator Amy Morton, Morton Fine Art (MFA) is a fine art gallery and curatorial group that collaborates with art collectors and visual artists to inspire fresh ways of acquiring contemporary art. Firmly committed to the belief that art collecting can be cultivated through an educational stance, MFA’s mission is to provide accessibility to museum-quality contemporary art through a combination of substantive exhibitions and a welcoming platform for dialogue and exchange of original voice. Morton Fine Art specializes in a stellar roster of nationally and internationally renowned artists as well as has an additional focus on artwork of the African Diaspora. Morton Fine Art 52 O St NW #302 Washington, DC 20001 COVID-19 protocol:  By appointment. Mask required. Contact the gallery for supplementary artwork documentation such as detail images and short videos. Safe, no contact door to door delivery available. Shipping nationally and internationally.