Ambition Takes Flight

These works from Canadian artists draw their inspiration from the diverse reasons that bring each of us to the airport.

Views, content, and opinions included on artist social media do not express the views of CIBC.

OTHER ARTISTS

Thea Vu-Nguyen

OUTBOUND, 2023
Acrylic painting

What was the inspiration behind this work?

OUTBOUND is a product of my personal experiences. With the goal of portraying the happiness and adventure that comes with travel, I wanted imagery representing an escape from reality. For instance, meeting new people, exploring different cultures and trying new things; before you know it, you are back at home reminiscing about in the adventure you just had. To best illustrate this, I decided to combine images of my past travels in a way that makes the real look surreal — the notion of stepping into a new reality. This idea is combined with my love for vibrant colours, impressionism, landscapes, and still life.

How has travel affected your life and your art?

My family travels so often that it has become a tradition. I am extremely grateful for these opportunities to explore new cultures and it seconds as family bonding time — and could also test your patience with each other. As cheesy as this may sound, it has truly become ingrained in my life. Additionally, a good number of works I create are based off my travel photographs. Not only does it capture a memory, but I find it to be great practice for stylization, creating compositions, and testing my ability to extend the colour — something my art teachers always said and it hasn’t left me until this day.

What are your travel ambitions for the future?

I would love if I could travel at least yearly across the whole globe. Currently, my bucket list is to visit Singapore, Paris, England, the Netherlands and go back to Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Some could be trips with my friends, and others with my siblings once they are older. Sorry, parents, this is for all the vacations you went on sans children…don’t worry, I’ll take you guys on other ones.

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Andrew Wang

Canadian Dream II

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