About

Bio

Han Cao is a self-taught fiber artist based in Dallas, Texas. Using hand embroidery on vintage photographs and postcards, she reimagines narratives with intricate thread. Influenced by her Vietnamese upbringing and early exposure to textiles through her mother’s work as a seamstress, Cao’s art explores memory, nostalgia, and identity.

Her work has been exhibited in solo shows at the Museum of the Southwest (Midland, TX) and Paradigm Gallery (Philadelphia, PA), as well as in a variety of group exhibitions across the United States, including at the Delaware Contemporary and the Art Academy Museum. Her pieces are held in private collections around the world.

Artist Statement

My work begins with what others have left behind—documents unearthed from flea markets and discarded boxes. Drawn to these found artifacts, I see not just images but invitations: chances to explore how memory survives without context, and how art can restore intimacy to what feels anonymous.

As the daughter of Vietnamese refugees, I grew up with few family photographs. The visual record of our history was erased by war, loss, and displacement. In its absence, I’ve developed a deep connection to images left behind by others—photographs once held close, now orphaned by time and circumstance.

By stitching into these images, I attempt to honor and reimagine them. The tactile presence of thread disrupts the stillness of the photograph, asking viewers to pause, look again, and engage with the lives within. Though I do not know the people pictured, their expressions speak of emotions we all carry: tenderness, grief, resilience, joy.

Each embroidered piece becomes a quiet act of remembrance and reinvention—a meditation on what it means to belong, to remember, and to be remembered. In a world where so much is forgotten, I hope my work offers moments of recognition and connection, stitching together a shared humanity from the fragments we find.