Diem Chau

Raised by a nomadic family, artist Diem Chau grew up with few possessions, relying on her grandmother’s storytelling for entertainment and escape. Oral tradition continues to be an important and influential part of the artist's life and work, as she recreates and reinterprets stories and memories from her past. “I believe it’s my time to be the storyteller and to evoke the same delight and anticipation from my audience… Each story is a thread that connects us to each other, the storyteller holding one end and the audience the other.” Diem’s narratives are expressed primarily in the form of embroidered dinner plates, each with a figurative drawing in colored thread. 

Diem has held solo exhibitions at G.Gibson Gallery in Seattle, Packer Schopf Gallery in Chicago, Galleria Patricia Armocida in Milan, and Isaac Lincoln Gallery at Northern State University in South Dakota among others. Diem is the recipient of the Professional Edge Grant from the Artist Trust in Seattle, the Seattle Magazine Spotlight Award in Seattle, among others.