Today we’d like to introduce you to Cathy Le.
Hi Cathy, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?
My story starts in my hometown of Houston, where I spent many hot summer days making all sorts of arts and crafts. I’ve always loved creating things, but it wasn’t until I attended the High School for the Performing and Visual Arts that I began to really explore my artistic identity and find my creative voice. I became fascinated by how our minds make sense of the world, how we find patterns in seemingly random information and beauty in systematic processes. A lot of my early work explored this relationship between humans and technology, often through methodical data collection. At the time, programming felt like this mysterious world that I was observing as an outsider, so I decided somewhat on a whim to study electrical and computer engineering in college. My parents had always been supportive of my artistic interests, so I think my decision to pursue engineering surprised even them!
I ended up taking a pretty long break from art during college, but after graduating and starting my career as a software engineer, I realized how much I missed having a creative outlet and being part of an artistic community. I slowly started revisiting my old work, rebuilding my portfolio, and finding the courage to put myself out there again. A big turning point was participating in MoHA’s CATS+ residency, where I discovered new possibilities in media art and, more importantly, found a creative community in Austin. From there, I got involved with Slipper Assembly, a collective supporting Asian creatives in Austin, and things naturally grew through the people I met and the opportunities that came along. I’ve since been able to explore everything from projection mapping and interactive installations to curating an exhibition through the _OFCOLOR and Austin Public Library fellowship. It’s been a winding path, but I’ve really enjoyed rediscovering my creative side and finding ways to bring my artistic and technical interests together.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I think my biggest struggle has been figuring out my identity as an artist and how that fits alongside the rest of my life. Art was such a huge part of my world in my youth, so stepping away from it for several years made returning feel surprisingly intimidating. Even now, I sometimes struggle to reconcile my creative and technical sides. I spend so much of my day working with code that it’s hard to switch my brain from seeing those things as work to seeing them as creative tools. I admire artists who can take these rigid, technical systems and turn them into something playful, unexpected, or deeply human, and I’m still learning how to approach technology with that same sense of freedom.
I also think there’s a lot of uncertainty that comes with making art, especially when you’re trying to figure out what you want from it. I often question whether my work is saying something meaningful, whether it reflects what I genuinely want to express, or whether I’m subconsciously making things I think other people will enjoy. Sometimes I wonder if I should be working toward a more cohesive practice or if it’s okay to keep experimenting with completely different ideas. And then there’s the question of whether I want art to become my livelihood or if I’m happy keeping it separate from my career. I don’t necessarily have answers to all of these questions yet, but I’m starting to accept that figuring them out is part of the process.
Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know about your work?
I’m a Vietnamese American artist from Houston, now based in Austin, working across new media, interactive art, projection, and sculptural installation. With a background in engineering, I’m interested in the tenderness and overwhelm of being human in the digital age. I often work with distorted data, personal archives, and community responses. Rather than treating technology as a novelty, I’m interested in using it to explore memory, connection, and what it means to hold onto our identities within systems that so often reduce us into metrics.
One of my proudest recent projects was Echoes of a System, a projection mapping piece for Design Austin’s WaterWork at the Seaholm Intake Building. Years ago, I made a video called Circles, where I filmed circular objects and movements around my childhood home in Houston and edited them into a rhythmic collage of patterns. For WaterWork, I returned to that same idea, this time filming the landscape around my home in Austin’s Seaholm neighborhood. Being able to revisit an old idea through the person I am now felt incredibly full-circle. It reminded me that even as my mediums change, I’m still drawn to the same underlying themes.
Before we let you go, we’ve got to ask if you have any advice for those who are just starting out?
I would say to follow whatever genuinely excites you, even if you don’t immediately see how it fits into a bigger picture. I still struggle with waiting for the perfect idea or burst of inspiration before making something, and I think that mindset can be really limiting. Not everything needs to become a finished project, fit into a cohesive body of work, or have some profound meaning behind it. Sometimes it’s enough to make something simply because you’re curious about it. I think there’s a lot to learn about yourself through the act of creating, and sometimes you don’t recognize the connections between your interests until much later.
I’d also encourage people to find creative communities and participate in them. Go to exhibitions, attend workshops, volunteer, reach out to people whose work you admire, and apply for opportunities even if you don’t feel completely ready. So much of my growth as an artist in Austin has come from meeting people who inspire me, encourage me to try new things, and introduce me to possibilities I wouldn’t have found on my own. You don’t have to figure everything out by yourself, and you definitely don’t have to have your artistic identity fully formed before putting yourself out there.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.theCathyLe.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/theCathyLe/
