Tomas Vu
Flatland
Long Lake Estates
Tomas Vu was born in Saigon, Vietnam, and at the age of ten moved with his family to El Paso, Texas. Vu received a BFA from the University of Texas, El Paso, and went on to earn an MFA from Yale University. He is a master artist and printmaker.
Born in Da Nang, Saigon, Vu grew up amid the chaos of the Vietnam War. He often used discarded grenades as a fishing tool and heard the constant sound of gunfire until the 70s, when his family moved to Texas. Vu-Daniel was expecting the bustling cities he’d watched on TV but found the quiet, dusty landscapes of El Paso instead. Adjusting to this new environment was challenging, especially with the language barrier; but he soon found a way to make new friends: art.
“I started drawing scenes about the war: tanks and helicopters—things my schoolmates were seeing every day on TV. I saw art as a way to communicate, the easiest way to communicate. It’s very universal. Those kids didn’t like me at the beginning, but they liked my drawings. Early on in my life, I saw the value of art.”
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