Cuong Lam
9/14/26 – 12/18/26
The Library Building (VLIB)
The Fact That We’re Here re-examines objects and their meaning from two sources: my upbringing in a Vietnamese community transplanted to America, and the gorintō, a Buddhist stupa I first encountered in Koyasan, Japan.
My work excavates objects and imagery buried in layers of memory. Simultaneously familiar and foreign, these cultural forms reflect a liminal state I have experienced in myself—having grown up in a Vietnamese community transplanted to America. It is this in-between tension that I explore through ceramic sculpture.
My process synthesizes distilled forms, labor-intensive surfaces, and a joyous love for color. I approach each of these elements with iterative investigation, allowing the combined effect to unearth unexpected objects and new meanings.
Cuong Lam is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in ceramics. His practice builds upon a professional career in graphic design, for which he holds a BFA from the Rhode Island School of Design, and ceramics education across several institutions including Harvard, MassArt, Haystack Mountain School of Craft, and Cohorts.Art. He has produced award-winning designs for major industry players such as Adobe and Intel, contributed to the success of innovative startups such as Pivotal and HashiCorp, and collaborated closely with cultural institutions such as Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Sonoma Valley Museum of Art. Lam currently lives and works in Portland, Oregon. The Fact That We’re Here, is Cuong’s first solo exhibition.