Why Make? Episode 78: Vivian Chiu

I have always thought that my work is a dialogue, not a monologue.

I don't like making work that is a statement.

I like that it's obvious that I'm thinking about a lot of things.

You know, I'm questioning a lot of things.

That's Vivian Chu, a wood artist and sculptor who trained as a furniture maker, though she never really was all that interested in functional objects.

She has received numerous prestigious awards, fellowships, and recognitions for her self-portrait series of optical sculptures and her body of work from recycled wooden packing crates.

Vivian spent five years in the workshop of world-renowned wood sculptor Ursula von Riedingswaad, and trained with sculptor Yuri Kobayashi as an undergrad, who she still calls the best woodworker in America.

And Vivian's work just blows me away on many fronts, mainly because of her amazingly detailed and time-consuming constructions.

In short, the kind of work I know I'm incapable of doing myself, but I'm amazed by when I see so well executed.