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Joey Richardson, Binh Pho | Destiny of Y
SOLD
5,100.00USDto s****p+ applicable fees & taxes.
This item SOLD at 2023 Jun 02 @ 17:43UTC-4 : AST/EDT
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Destiny of Y, 2017-2023
Joey Richardson, United Kingdom | Binh Pho, 1955-2017
Boxelder, sycamore, acrylic paints
10 x 4.5 x 5.5 inches
This is a piece six years in the making. When I visited my mentor and teacher Binh Pho a few weeks before he died, he gave me this blank vessel to work on, our next collaboration. Since Binh's passing I have struggled to work, although I know that is the opposite of what he would have wanted. He has left a legacy of his art work, a legacy of love, warmth and joy but his greatest legacy is the number of people he has tutored, mentored and inspired. His passion and devotion has taken the wood turned world to a new dimension and one we need to continue in his honor.
Using both Binh's and my techniques and styles I have paid homage to this great artist. Taking inspiration from his whole life, his escape from Vietnam, his family and his art 'Destiny of Y' was created. I have used symbolism and narrative from Binh's last travelling exhibition and book 'The Shadow of the Turning', of which I was fortunate to be one of the collaborating artists. Sadly this is the last collaboration but no piece could contain more respect, emotion and love.
One of the greatest gifts Binh has bestowed up on us is the inspiration to pursue our dreams. We should all turn and follow his path, and dream, transform, live.
A portion of the proceeds from this piece will go to Binh's children, Benjamin and Victoria.
Learn more: binhpho.com, joeyrichardson.com @joeyrichardson7
About Joey Richardson:
Joey’s work investigates the emotional and symbiotic relationship humans have with trees. Nature and more specifically, wood, is the driving force in her sculptural practice. It informs her themes and guides her expressions. From memento mori through mimesis via a mischievous wit, her delicate wood forms and contemporary sculptures are moulded by and seek to encapsulate nature.
It shapes her and in turn, she shapes it.
Her profound appreciation of wood and natural materials have left their seeds buried deep within her work. They are animated by its spirit, its story and its transitions. To Joey, there is no greater manifestation of life abundant.
About Binh Pho:
Dream, Transform Live.
The wood turning world is mourning the loss of Binh Pho, visionary, talented artist, tutor and friend. His kind and creative spirit, generously and unconditionally, has supported, influenced and inspired so many.
Binh was born in Vietnam in 1955, the year the war began. In 1969 Binh’s father, Dr. Mui Duc Pho, was temporarily sent to the US to study, this ignited his dream that one day all his family would live freely in America. When Saigon fell in 1975 Binh’s family escaped but he was left behind in the United States embassy. Refusing to except communism he was imprisoned by the Viet Cong. In 1978, after numerous failed attempts, he managed to escape as one of the boat people. The whole of Binh’s life in Vietnam was spent in a country at war. Binh’s dramatic journey from Vietnam to America carved his character and served as a constant reminder that humans are mortal. Embracing death, Binh, lead a complete life, full of purpose, love and enjoyment. He lived rather than existed, in a life filled with gratitude, appreciating the beauty of the world and his freedom which he never took for granted. Binh’s life experiences informed his creative process, adding a profound and colourful complexity to his art. His amazing story and the inspirational autobiographical body of work he created can been seen in his book ‘The River of Destiny’, a collaboration with Kevin Wallace.
Binh used his time wisely, focusing on the essential things in life, family, friends, love and work. He never seemed to sleep, he worked full time as the national operations manager for Eaton, a global power management company. Binh loved his family, each evening he would spend time with them; when everyone was asleep he would then go into his studio, turning and creating his magic, working into the early hours of each morning.
Binh did dream, he transformed his dreams and he lived.
He also transformed the dreams of others; his generosity of spirit in passing on his artistic skills and knowledge through mentoring, tutoring, lecturing and demonstrating all around the world has been invaluable. His work has transformed and redefined the field of woodturning and he has selflessly promoted and elevated other turners.
There is hardly a woodturner among the new generation that has not been directly or indirectly influenced by Binh. He has opened doors, broken down boundaries and invented his own rules. Incorporating colour, piercing, texture and mixed media to a field which had previously been dominated by traditional forms and the natural beauty of wood, he has made anything and everything possible. His vision in casting his wooden forms in glass and bronze has introduced a whole new collector base to the field of woodturning, raising its profile in the process.
In 2005, I trained with Binh as part of my Worshipful Company of Turners bursary award, it was life changing; When I doubted myself, Binh believed in me. Over the past twelve years I have benefitted from his vast depth of knowledge, enjoyed his humour, his kindness, his friendship, and had the great privilege of working and collaborating with him.
In 2013 Binh and Kevin Wallace produced, ‘’Shadow of the Turning’’, a fictional story with corresponding art work which toured numerous Museums across America. I was thrilled to be a part of this, collaborating on numerous pieces. This story is based around three words, Dream, Transform, Live.
To me these three words reflect Binh’s life, he not only did dream, he realized his dreams, he transformed so many lives and the field of woodturning, and he certainly did live, not one but many fulfilled lives.
In 2014 Binh starred in the Last Days in Vietnam, a 2014 American documentary film written, produced and directed by Rory Kennedy. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature at the 87th Academy Awards which Binh attended. Prior to this Binh had met Stuart Arthur Herrington, Col, U.S. Army (Ret.) who was involved with the evacuation of refugees from the US Embassy. After promising all the Vietnamese inside the embassy they would be evacuated Herrington got orders from Washington that ‘Operation Frequent Wind’ was over. Herrington had to obey orders and for years this has haunted him. Over thirty years later Binh shook Herrington’s hand and thanked him for leaving him behind.
He said ‘’ I would not be the artist I am today if I had got on the helicopter, so thank you.’’
Binh’s philosophical view and belief in destiny is why he has been so happy and successful in his life.
Binh donated a lot to charity. We collaborated on an auction piece, ‘Dream within a Dream’, to raise money for the Beatrice Wood Centre for the arts. At the event, Rory Kennedy, showed clips of the Last days of Vietnam, Stuart Herrington and Binh spoke. They joked about Stuart leaving Binh in the Embassy, and when Stuart left for a bathroom break, Binh pretended to follow him. Everyone had tears in their eyes but Binh still managed to make us laugh.
What Binh achieved in his 61 years was astounding; in a few years’ time, he would have retired from Eaton and devoted all his working time to his art. What could he have achieved? Where would he have taken the wood world? I feel cheated that he was taken from us prematurely, that after all his struggles in life, cancer cruelly took him. He bravely rose to the challenge of fighting cancer and created several pieces whilst undergoing chemotherapy. He was very optimistic that he could beat cancer and was planning a book and exhibition on surviving, hoping to help and inspire others. Binh was a master in turning negative situations into positive experiences.
I visited Binh a few weeks before he died, he gave me a blank vessel to work on, our next collaboration. This vessel now sits in my studio, an empty soul. Since Binh’s passing I have struggled to work, although I know that is the opposite of what he would have wanted. He has left a legacy of his art work, a legacy of love, warmth and joy but his greatest legacy is the number of people he has tutored, mentored and inspired. His passion and devotion has taken the wood turned world to a new dimension and one we need to continue in his honor.
One of the greatest gifts Binh has bestowed up on us is the inspiration to pursue our dreams. We should all turn and follow his path, and dream, transform, live.
Joey Richardson
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