The Fact That We’re Here
“The Fact That We’re Here” re-examines objects and their meaning through two sources: Lam’s upbringing in a Vietnamese community transplanted to America and the gorintō, a Buddhist stupa he first encountered in Koyasan, Japan.
His work excavates objects and imagery buried in layers of memory. Simultaneously familiar and foreign, these cultural forms reflect a liminal state shaped by growing up between cultures. Lam explores this in-between tension through ceramic sculpture.
His process synthesizes distilled forms, labor-intensive surfaces and a joyful love of color. He approaches each of these elements through ongoing experimentation, allowing their combined effect to unearth unexpected objects and new meanings.
Artist biography
Cuong Lam is an interdisciplinary artist working primarily in ceramics. His practice builds on a professional career in graphic design, for which he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Rhode Island School of Design, and ceramics education across several institutions, including Harvard, MassArt, Haystack Mountain School of Craft and Cohorts.
He has produced award-winning designs for major companies including Adobe and Intel, contributed to innovative startups such as Pivotal and HashiCorp, and collaborated with cultural institutions including Yerba Buena Center for the Arts and Sonoma Valley Museum of Art.
Lam lives and works in Portland, Oregon. “The Fact That We’re Here” is his first solo exhibition.
