by Patricia Frischer
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| Sailor Sisters |
This exhibition with its vivid red colors puts us in mind
of the movie The Women which features an ending scene with our heroine
deciding to win her husband back from a hussy by painting her fingernails Jungle
Red. Thao Huynh French has been on a journey of survival from Viet Nam,
with a stop in a Philippian refugee camp to her life in San Diego. Along the
way her mother painted many nails as a manicurist to support the family.
For French, flowers are a symbol of resilience and
transformation and we see them in all their red glory. In Asia, red symbolizes good
luck and prosperity. It is believed to
attract wealth, success, and positive energy and is a celebration of joy But it
also wards off evil. Red is a life force.
This is French’s very first exhibition but with her husband,
she has painted over 400 murals including the recently commissioned ones for
San Diego Mesa College. Mindful Murals
is aptly named as there is real substance and a message in all of her
works, especially the installations here that document that refugee camp and
her world view. She shows graphic designs, dress fabric and painted shoes, a
grouping of red Asian holiday objects as well as a series of canvases.
We can see a progression in her work from the blue Rebirth
image done in 2021 at the beginning of the exhibition to the blue note book at
the end which ask for your memories and stories, perhaps for her future
inspiration as she includes all of us in her journey.
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| Tom Yum |
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| Miniature angry panda mural at Shank and Bone restaurant |
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| Flow of Life - Mesa College mural |
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| Decolonize Yourself You Dumb Hoe |
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| A world worth saving - small book |
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| Rebirth, 2021 |
San Diego Mesa College Art Gallery
On view until Sept 17th, 2026
FA103, 7250 Mesa College Drive, SD 92111
Gallery Hours: Monday through Thursday, 12 – 5 pm. Closed Fridays and weekends. Closed Monday Memorial Day Sept 7.
Info: Alessandra Moctezuma 619.388.2829
