About Sam Van Vo
Sam Van Vo (BA, Studio Art, summa cum laude, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN) is a Laotian and Vietnamese American artist based in Minneapolis. Originally an illustrator and graphic designer, he now works in new media, sculpture, video, and industrial design. His work has been shown in exhibitions including PEACE TALKS in Dayton, Ohio (which coincided with NATO’s 30-year commemoration of the Dayton Peace Accords), Human × Machine at The Phipps Center for the Arts in Hudson, Wisconsin, and the Soo Visual Arts Center (SooVAC) in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
A lifelong advocate and proponent of intersectional approaches to social and racial equity, his practice explores cultural identity, erasure, control, and narrative as a means to convey an expanded human experience through a cynical, satirical, and Futurist lens.
Vo continues his transdisciplinary studio practice, engaging and incorporating emerging technologies, with an emphasis on three-dimensional “invasive” sculpture and installation. He will begin his MFA training in 2026 and currently works out of his home studio in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
CV/RESUME
EDUCATION
2025 Metropolitan State University, BA – Studio Art. Honors: Summa Cum Laude.
2014 Rochester Community and Technical College, AFA – Studio Art.
PANELS AND SPEAKING
2025 Human x Machine: Exploring Art in the Age of AI Exhibition Panel Discussion, Phipps Black Box Theater, Hudson, WI.
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Human X Machine: Exploring Art in the Age of AI, The Phipps Center for the Arts, Hudson, WI.
2025 PEACE TALKS, High Street Gallery, Dayton, OH.
2025 Student Salon, Gordon Parks Gallery, St. Paul, MN. (upcoming)
2024 Artlumni, UCR Gallery, Rochester, MN.
2020 Spit Shade III, Gamut Gallery, Minneapolis, MN.
2017 UNTITLED 13, Soo Visual Arts Center, Minneapolis, MN.
2017 REAL NICE FUNCTION, Lightbox Studio, Minneapolis, MN.
2017 17th Annual Essential Art, Paramount Center for the Arts, St. Cloud, MN.
2014 Fragments, UCR Gallery, Rochester, MN.
2013 One Night of Art, The Salon, Rochester, MN.
2013 Annual Juried Student Exhibition, UCR Gallery, Rochester, MN.
GRANTS AND AWARDS
2025 Harlan Boss Award for the Arts, Metropolitan State University, St. Paul, MN.
2020 1st Place Tattoo of the Day (Black and Grey), Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention, Minneapolis, MN.
2020 2nd Place Japanese Tattoo, Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention, Minneapolis, MN.
2020 3rd Place Leg Sleeve Tattoo, Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention, Minneapolis, MN.
2020 5th Place Tattoo of the Day (Black and Gray), Minneapolis Tattoo Arts Convention, Minneapolis, MN.
2017 1st Place Award (2D), 17th Annual Essential Art, Visual Arts Minnesota, St. Cloud, MN.
2014 MCAD Presidential Admissions Merit Scholarship, Minneapolis College of Art and Design, Minneapolis, MN.
2014 SEMAC McKnight Emerging Artist Grant, Southeastern Minnesota Arts Council, Rochester, MN.
2013 Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship Award, Nellie Stone Johnson Scholarship Program, St. Paul, MN.
2013 1st Place Best in Show Award, Annual Juried Student Exhibition, UCR Gallery, Rochester, MN.
2013 Art + Design Scholarship Award, Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, MN.
2013 Art History Scholarship Award, Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, MN.
2012 Art + Design Scholarship Award, Rochester Community and Technical College, Rochester, MN.
PUBLISHED WORK
2025 Memory Dump, Haute Dish Arts & Literary Magazine - Spring 2025, St. Paul, MN.
2018 Pecking Order, Manifest Gallery International Drawing Annual (INDA 13) Exhibition-in-Print, Cincinnati, OH.
OTHER CREDENTIALS
2024 Certificate - Value Proposition Design, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN.
2024 Patent Pending - GRIP FOR A HAND-HELD INSTRUMENT, Filed with USPTO, 2024.