• Overview
    Exploring the dichotomy between ugliness and beauty.

    Dan Lam is an American sculptor of Vietnamese ancestry, best known for her "drippy" sculptures and use of vibrant color. Using non-traditional materials of polyurethane foam, acrylic paint and epoxy resin, her finished work often dangles over shelf ledges, contrasting emotions of desire and disgust. Lam lives and works in Dallas.

    As her work has progressed, Lam continues to explore the dichotomy between ugliness and beauty, pressing the boundary of perception where beauty seems to become too much, suddenly flipping to the grotesque.

    Lam plays with themes of organic vs. inanimate, seriousness vs. playfulness, soft and hard. Lam attempts to find a balance between and among these contradictory concepts to evoke emotions and thoughtful consideration of shifting lines and perception. This exploration of the boundary between the beautiful and the ugly creates different responses among those who view her art.

    Instagram sensation Lam’s tactile, technicolor sculptures use unconventional materials to playfully tread a line between allure and repulsion. Made of painted polyurethane foam and often covered in spikes, her blob-like pieces that appear to melt and drip have brought Lam hordes of social media fans.

    Lam began experimenting with the possibilities of foam after receiving her MFA from Arizona State University, and she has continued to test its limits by scaling up. While her pieces appear otherworldly, Lam steadily draws inspiration from the everyday, taking cues from nature and the human body.

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