Izik Vu

Izik Vu | To Gamble Is To Have Community | 2022

Your work is deeply rooted in personal memory and nostalgia. When you begin a new piece, do you start from a specific memory, emotion, or visual detail?

When planning a collection, I like to think of the overall message I want to convey and build a mental accumulation of specific memories that fit that theme. So, when I am starting a new piece, I already have an idea of the body of work I am going to include the art piece in and what memory I want to paint.

As I experience an event, I sometimes get an inkling that I might want to paint. That is when I begin to look at the event through the lens of an artist as opposed to the lens of a person experiencing new things, knowing I am going to reference that experience later on to paint about.

I also think about what type of emotions I want to convey in my different bodies of work. For example, in my series “Nhà ở đâu? (Where is my home?),” I want to convey an off-centered lostness in a way of childish confusion—like a kid who initially knows that something is a bit different about them, but does not necessarily understand why. Only after re-examining their memories from a more grown-up point of view, they are able to understand what they were experiencing.

Many of your paintings include handwritten notes, reminders, and everyday text. What role do these fragments of language play in your storytelling?

My artwork is intrinsically connected with my memories and all my friends know that my memory is not… great. Similar to the way that I use post-it notes in my artwork, I also carry around a notebook for note-taking in real life. I wanted to convey what these memories are connected to through note taking—things that may not be as obvious by just looking at the initially painted picture.

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You often depict ordinary moments – food, cafes, shared tables, workspaces. What draws you to these quiet, intimate scenes rather than grand narratives?

There is beauty in the mundane. I love looking at these small moments with a more critical eye. Grand gestures are, undoubtedly, great, and are what makes a splash in the mind’s eye. However, a life consists of smaller, more quiet moments of connection that can be easy to forget. If I do not write these small moments down, I forget them. Similarly, I want to paint moments so that they are not forgotten.

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Watercolor plays a central role in your practice. How do you balance control and unpredictability in the medium, and how does that reflect the nature of memory itself?

Watercolor is fluid and unpredictable, just like memories can be. Memories can easily warp, just as the way watercolor shifts. I love using wet on wet techniques that give the watercolor more freedom to move how it wants and liken it to the way that memories will shift no matter what you want them to do. Which is why some people do not like nostalgia or find it sad—right? Because it warps your perspective. But I find that to be beautiful—moments are experienced differently by everyone because our brains work differently.

Izik Vu | Clinging Onto Any Type Of Representation | 2022

Several works suggest fleeting moments or pauses in time. Do you see your paintings as a way of preserving moments that might otherwise be forgotten?

Yes, I do. I use my paintings to preserve my memories and the experiences that have impacted my life. I want people to look at my paintings and be reminded of their own small forgotten moments too.

You could call my paintings a time capsule for the past, present, and future.

Izik Vu | (Memories Of) … Slow Mornings In A Cafe With Alexis | 2025

How has growing up and living in Los Angeles influenced your visual language, subjects, or sense of identity as an artist?

Los Angeles is such an incredibly diverse and colorful city that I would say is harder to not be influenced by than to be influenced by. I believe Los Angeles is the type of city where you get as much out of it as you put in. Meaning that if you are open to learning about the city, it will reward you with the best experiences in turn. Artistically, I would say that Los Angeles has such a variety of work by different artists on display in the widest range of institutions.

I grew up visiting the Getty Museum, Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) and tiny little independently owned galleries, and seeing each of the many different shows helped grow my understanding of the art world as well as my own identity artistically.

Los Angeles taught me to try everything, to not be afraid of failure, and to have an open mind. That applies to everything, from tasting a new cuisine in the city to using a new art medium within my work.

Izik Vu | (Memories Of) … Late Night College Traditions With Jourdan | 2025

What do you hope viewers take with them after spending time with your work – a feeling, a question, or perhaps a memory of their own?

I hope my artwork evokes a sense of nostalgia in my viewers and that they are able to sit with what different memories can mean for them. I want to make them dig deep into their own memories to consider what kind of mundane happenings in their life they would paint if they were the artist. What brings them joy or a sense of nostalgia so strong, they would want to immortalize it if they were the painter? And what sort of past experiences did they have to make them the person they are today?