Dinh Thi Tham Poong (Vietnamese, b.1970) is a Contemporary artist who is influenced by her ethnic roots and her upbringing in a region on the Chinese border. Born in Lai Chau province, Tham Poong is of mixed Thai and Muong heritage. Her detailed, brightly colored paintings—executed in watercolor on handmade paper—often incorporate surrealistic elements and portray the close relationship between people and the natural world. Through her works, she depicts the daily lives of ethnic minorities, often dressed in traditional clothing, painted against imaginary landscapes.
She has received a number of awards throughout her career, including First Prize for the Minority Artists Exhibition in 1993, and Third Prize and a Promotions Prize from the National Fine Art Association in 1995. Tham Poong has had many group and solo exhibitions at international venues, such as the Goethe Institut in Hanoi, the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, the Frederick R. Weisman Art Museum at the University of Minnesota, the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum in Japan, the Bau Gallery in Finland, and the Landon Gallery in New York. She is also a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association.
