Michael Thế Khôi Trần

vườn sau nhà – the garden behind the house

Opening Reception Thursday, March 25 6 – 9PM

Exhibition on view: March 25 – April 2, 2027

On view gallery hours: Monday – Friday, 11am – 5pm, and by appointment 

Roski Graduate Gallery (Los Angeles Arts District) 1262 Palmetto St, Los Angeles, CA 90013

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION

This exhibition expands on the artist’s ongoing exploration of the Vietnamese diaspora through a large scale installation inspired by their backyard garden. In that space, discarded furniture and found materials are reused and reworked into structures that support plant life, creating a dense and lived-in environment shaped by care, necessity, and improvisation. The show brings this sensibility indoors, where objects that once served other purposes are given new roles, forming a landscape that feels both constructed and familiar. The exhibition functions as an interactive installation that invites viewers to move through it rather than observe from a distance. Sound plays a key role, with overlapping audio that fills the space and adds another layer of atmosphere. Mechanical chirps, ambient noise, and fragments of music create a shifting environment that feels active and inhabited. Together, the materials, spatial layout, and sound create an immersive setting that reflects on making do, rebuilding, and finding new life in what remains.

 

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Michael Thế Khôi Trần is a Vietnamese American artist based in Los Angeles and Orange County. He received his BFA in Drawing and Painting from California State University, Long Beach and is currently pursuing an MFA in Fine Art at the University of Southern California. His work explores the experiences of the Vietnamese diaspora, with a focus on memory, displacement, and mental health, and how it correlates to their gardening and domestic habits.

Working across sculpture, painting, and installation, Trần uses found materials such as cardboard, pallets, and discarded objects sourced from Little Saigon. His practice reflects on how cultural identity is shaped and preserved through acts of care, repetition, and resourcefulness.

Trần has exhibited throughout California and was selected for the Lakers In the Paint program. He was also chosen to receive a fellowship from ArtsOC. He has worked with community organizations such as the Vietnamese American Arts and Letters Association. His work continues to investigate how making can serve as a way to rebuild a sense of home and belonging.