Exploring sensational dichotomies: The drippy sculptural world of a contemporary artist
“While the ideas drive the work, much of my decision-making is found in the process and materials. I embrace the chaos of the materials and allow them to help guide and dictate where a piece goes,” says Dan Lam
Armed with polyurethane foam, epoxy resin, and acrylic, artist Dan Lam sculpts technicolor forms that ooze, bubble, and trickle in long drips. She layers materials into masses of neon color progressions and textured blobs, forming amorphous puddles and mounds with cavernous insides.
Internationally acclaimed contemporary artist Dan Lam is an artist based out of Texas. Lam’s drippy sculptural work explores sensational dichotomies by mixing unconventional materials, organic forms, and bright colors. With contrasting themes verging on beauty and grotesqueness at once, her art provokes its viewers to ponder meaning and existence while inspiring feelings of familiarity and wonder.
Dan Lam was born in the Philippines to Vietnamese refugee parents. The small family made their way to Texas when she was just a baby and was established in Houston. Later, she and her mother would move to Dallas, TX.
Always one to follow her intuition and passion, she pursued an academic path in the fine arts. Dan obtained her Bachelor of Fine Arts from the University of North Texas in the fall of 2010 and went on to a Master’s program in Fine Arts at Arizona State University, graduating in the spring of 2014.
Inspired by the great luminaries James Turrell, Olafur Eliason, and Lynda Benglis, Lam is known for her bold and unique sculptures. Curiosity, play, and fun are the foundation of where Lam’s work begins. Her experimentation results in beautiful sculptures created with various materials such as foams, polyurethanes, resins, acrylics, and polymers, which defines her style.
“While the ideas drive the work, much of my decision-making is found in the process and materials. I embrace the chaos of the materials and allow them to help guide and dictate where a piece goes. I am currently most interested in the viewer’s experience and how my work encourages people to engage, interact, and feel the need to want to touch the piece,” says Lam.
This approach enables her to push into new boundaries while simultaneously reflecting the present times and influencing other artists. With an impressive and dedicated social following, Lam is in awe to see the impact of her work in real-time, which she finds terrific and humbling.
Lam has exhibited at the Nasher Sculpture Center in Dallas, Texas, at venues across the US, from San Francisco to New York, as well as around the world, such as Paris and Munich.
Her work is in the collections of celebrity clients, including Miley Cyrus, Demi Lovato, 2 Chainz, The Game, and Lily Aldridge, and notable art collectors like the Tisch family. Lam has collaborated with prominent companies, including Facebook and Virgin, and renowned art producers Meow Wolf.
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“I am currently most interested in the viewer’s experience and how my work encourages people to engage, interact, and feel the need to want to touch the piece,” says Lam.