Visual Translations

Communication is key to artists Anna Carlson and Nghia Quach in the exhibition Visual Translations. While they approach their work differently and for different reasons their very tactile artwork focuses on the challenges of communicating. 

For Carlson, this challenge is to capture her mother’s memories and stories before the effects of dementia takes hold and wipes them away forever. Using fabric, thread, and screen-printing techniques, Carlson physically records their conversations. These “recordings” shift from being legible to symbolic patterns of recollections, ideas, and phrases.  “Language patterns connect us with family and society over time and across space, remind us of where we are from, and follow along with us in the path forward.” – Anna Carlson

Quach, who was born in Vietnam with significant congenital physical handicaps due to Agent Orange, is challenged daily by language and communication barriers. While he may struggle to write and speak, his artwork has become his mode of expression as well as a way to experience a sense of personal healing. “I strive to touch those who need a voice and reach others who might not otherwise understand.”– Nghia Quach

About the Artists

Anna Carlson is a visual artist practicing in Minnesota. She earned her MFA in Graphic Design from the University of Minnesota in 2013, after a long career in clothing design. Since 2014, her work has been recognized in numerous exhibitions including the New Bedford Art Museum (Massachusetts, USA) and Oregon College of Art and Craft (USA). Carlson has attended residencies at the Anderson Center, Redwing, MN, and Arteles Creative Center, Finland. She is an active participant in an artist group, promoting the group’s work through exhibitions and community engagement projects. Frequently invited to present to guilds and groups, she eagerly shares her life-long experiences with other creatives. Carlson lives with her husband in Minneapolis, and maintains a studio in the Ivy Arts Building. A frequent traveler, she observes and embraces other cultures, and gathers images of textures and text wherever she goes. 

Nghia Quach was born in Vietnam with significant congenital physical handicaps resulting from chemicals used during the Vietnam War.  In 1980, at the age of 10, he and his family fled Vietnam’s ongoing strife and came to the United States. Soon after arrival, he underwent life-saving cardiac surgery and received treatment to partially increase a bilateral hearing impairment. Today, Quach maneuvers life with heart complications, impaired hearing and only one fully functioning arm. Quach’s new life in the United States began in Owatonna, Minnesota where he resided from 1980 to 2013. From 1990 – 1995 Nghia enhanced his painting and drawing talent at the Minneapolis College of Art and Design (MCAD). He now lives and creates art in the Minneapolis area. Quach’s work is revered and displayed in both private and corporate collections and he has publicly shown his work locally at MCAD, the Minnesota State Arts Board, the Owatonna Art Center, and Faribault Art Center, as well as the Cassidy Bayou Art & Culture Center in Sumner, Mississippi.  

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Gallery Location and Hours: This exhibition is presented by Artistry in the the Inez Greenberg Gallery located on the first floor of the Bloomington Center for the Arts at 1800 W. Old Shakopee Road in Bloomington, MN. Limited COVID-19 gallery hours are Monday- Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; there is no admission fee.

Image Credit: Under A Dark Storm II, Nghia Quach (left), Textual Emergere, Anna Carlson (right)