Garry Trinh
Garry Trinh is an artist working in photography, video, painting and works on paper.
Garry Trinh is a Western Sydney based artist who makes art about the uncanny, unexpected and spontaneous moments in daily life. He is inspired by his surroundings and from the vast visual output of mass culture. He is perplexed by the perception of artists as coffee-drinking loafers who work whenever they feel like it. He doesn't even drink coffee. His works are about a way of looking at the world, to reveal magic in the mundane. He is never bored and never late.
In 2023, Trinh’s solo exhibition Pen Tests was presented by Damien Minton Sheffer Gallery as part of 13 shows in 13 weeks; and he was finalist in the Hazelhurst Art on Paper Award and the Olive Cotton Award. Recent group exhibitions include The Great Granville Garden Show at Granville Centre Art Gallery, MÌNH at Fairfield City Museum & Gallery and Flight at Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre in 2023; Keeping Score: Tracing Time at Mosman Art Gallery, 2022; Time Pass at Bankstown Arts Centre, 2021.
Trinh has recently completed a residency at Granville Centre Art Gallery, June 2023 - February 2024 and prior to that was artist in residence at Concordia Art Gallery, February - May 2022 and was a full time tenant at Parramatta Artists Studios 2017-2019. His work is collected by the Art Gallery of NSW and Artbank.
In addition to his practice, Trinh runs a small business, Quiet Publishing And Photography. He is currently a member of the Powerhouse Museum Photography Advisory Group and an exhibition selection committee member for the HeadOn Photography Festival.
Trinh holds a BA in Psychology and a BA in Visual Communications / Photography and Digital Imaging from the University of Western Sydney.
In this video, Trinh talks to NAVA about the challenges of trying to balance an art practice with parenting and earning an income, the importance of maintaining ‘a steady keel’ through the ups and downs of an artists’ career, and joy felt when something clicks in the making of an artwork.
Video production by Atypical 2023.
Photo by Damien Minton 2023.
ID: Portrait of Garry Trinh sitting on a chair to the left of the frame. A white framed artwork of coloured pen markings on paper rests on his lap, behind him are another three similar artworks are on the floor, leaning against a large white wall. Garry is wearing a blue baseball cap, a navy blue jacket with the sleeves rolled up and navy blue pants and black sneakers with a white sole.
