About

Bio

I was born in Vietnam and moved to France in 1968. In Paris, I studied art at Atelier Roederer and cooking at Cordon Bleu. With my sister, I created a fashion company that designed a line of ready-to-wear clothing for Yves Saint Laurent.

Each of these endeavors was a different way that I explored and expressed my creativity.

In 1983 I moved to the United States, where I opened a French restaurant and jazz club in San Jose before moving to San Francisco. There, I opened Peasant Pies, a bakery that is now in its 30th year.

Since 2016 I have been a docent at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, specializing in German Expressionism and Pop Art.

In 2020, one of my pieces—”Fred’s Family”—was selected for an exhibit at the de Young Museum in San Francisco called “The de Young Open.”

About My Work

I have always sought out nature as a place of peace, reflection, and solace.

Everything I do starts with photos I take in nature when I go on hikes and trips. Often, I focus on details that might be easily missed or might not immediately be seen as “beautiful.”

I was inspired by the photo realist painters whose works are based on photos they take. But unlike these painters, who try to accurately recreate their photos as paintings, I use my photos to create something new. I reinterpret them by applying acrylic paint to alter colors, shapes, composition, and perspective.

I consider this approach a way to “deconstruct” the original photo.