PHAM PHOTOS FEATURED ON YOUNG ARTIST WALL
Khoa came to U.S. with family in 2012 from Vietnam
Kyle Pham is a very young but quickly rising “phenom” in the art world. An exciting sampling of his work occupies the Young Artist Wall at the Corner Gallery for the month of September, and it is well worth a long look.
It’s also well worth the effort to get to know Kyle. He is really Khoa (pronounced “Kwa”) and he came to the U.S. with his family in 2012 from Vietnam. People here mispronounced his name, and in an effort to fit into the culture, he and his brother searched Google for American names that started with K. They settled on Kyle. But now, at the age of 21, he feels that Khoa best describes him… he describes it as his parents’ perfect choice of a name for him, and he’s proudly owning it.
Khoa credits his family in Vietnam for his interest in art and photography. His father and older brothers were always taking photos and making videos. As a little child he absorbed everything, and now he is using all that experience. Though he took Lech Sloczynski’s photography classes every year at Ukiah High School, Khoa admits that he did it as an easy way to get some good grades and that he spent most of his class time on his phone. In spite of that, Khoa smiles, he did manage to learn something, and it was Lech who recommended him for this opportunity to show his work in the gallery.
Khoa explains that he has only become serious about photography in the last half year. He is using the medium to explore his deep connection to two completely diverse cultures. In his words, “I’m creating myself based on the foundation that I have and the culture that I’m still part of, combined with my current experiences.” He feels that the process is helping him mellow out, think more about everything and make sense of his uprooted life.
It is clear, looking at Khoa’s work, that he is thinking deeply. He explains that the way he sees has always been with him, and that he is working to understand his gift. Even though he does not portray himself in his photos, there is a strong sense of his presence in every one. He shoots with an intrinsic understanding of how the subject is
related to the setting, and one can visualize him challenging himself, the model and the viewer with the question “Why does this work?”
Khoa feels that the way he talks to the model is the key to the success of a photo shoot. They have to connect and it has to go right. One astonishingly photogenic model appears in many of Khoa’s photos. Annie, who uses the pronouns “they”
and “them,” is a fabulous combination of long bones, architectural angles and lines that a dancer would envy, all of which Khoa has found a way to reflect in the settings around them. Another model, a young black man, is almost obliterated in dark glasses and a cloud of cigarette smoke that surprisingly work not to mask, but to articulate, an entire story.
Khoa sees his two months on the wall of the Corner Gallery as an opportunity to fully dive into his exploration of art and (literally) sharpen his focus. He had previously been primarily interested in making movies, but now he sees more opportunities in other media. In his words, “I study life, I study people. I am trying to bring out the most beautiful part of what I am looking at.”
“I’m creating myself based on the foundation that I have and the culture that I’m still part of, combined with my current experiences.” — Khoa Pham