When you step into one of Zach Buehner’s shows, you can feel two things right away: care and curiosity. His art doesn’t shout for attention — it invites you in. Every piece tells a story, but more importantly, it asks you to think, to feel, and to look closer.

Zach is not the kind of artist who stays in one lane. He works with metal, paint, wood, and even digital tools, sometimes all at once. He calls his work Current, a word that means both ‘right now’ and a flow of energy. It’s the perfect word for an artist whose work is always moving, changing, and growing with him.

A creative start in New York City

Zach was born and raised in downtown Manhattan, on the edge of Wall Street and Tribeca, a place known for its mix of business buzz and art galleries. Both his parents were artists: his mom an experimental filmmaker and his dad a sculptor and painter.

Growing up, he was surrounded by creative people and ideas, but that didn’t mean becoming an artist was simple. “I never really questioned if I’d be an artist,” he says, “but I didn’t feel ready to call myself one for a long time.”

Zach’s early years were shaped by freedom and exploration. He skated through the city, wrote graffiti, and spent hours outdoors soaking up the city’s endless layers of culture. He didn’t spend much time in formal art studios back then; his education was the streets, the people, the texture of New York itself.

Learning through hands-on work

After college, Zach worked two very different jobs: one as a studio assistant for the well-known conceptual artist Tom Friedman, and the other in a metal shop, learning old-school blacksmithing.

This blend of craft and concept still runs through his work today. “My mom always told me if I wanted to be an artist, I should learn a craft, so I could always support myself,”.

In the beginning, he found success quickly, showing work in Chelsea’s big-name galleries and landing private commissions. But when buyers started asking him to make pieces to match their couches or color schemes, he knew something didn’t feel right. “I didn’t want to make art just for decoration,” he says. “I wanted to make something honest that means something to me.”

So, instead of pushing harder into the New York art world, he took a risk and moved abroad, first to South Korea, and later to Vietnam. He wanted to get away, learn, and reset.

Finding flow in Vietnam

Today, Zach lives in Ho Chi Minh City. If you’ve ever spent time in Vietnam, you know it’s a place full of surprises, narrow alleys leading to hidden temples, street food vendors on every corner, and motorbikes flowing like a river through the streets. For Zachary, it’s the perfect place to create.

“Here, life feels like it moves in a flow that makes sense to me,” he says. “It’s chaotic but peaceful. Everything is connected.”

This idea of connection shows up in all his work. He doesn’t stick to one style; he follows his curiosity. Some works are realistic portraits, others are abstract sculptures, and some combine both.

The stories behind the work

One of the most moving pieces in his current collection is a portrait of his best friend Gordon, who passed away from an accidental overdose. This piece is more than just a painting; it’s a way for Zach to keep his friend close and honor how much he supported his art.

When you look at the portrait, you’ll see more than just Gordon’s face. Below it is a rearranged piece of the paint palette Zach used, cut and reshaped to look like a reflection in water. The whole piece is framed inside a metal structure inspired by pyramids and tombs, with references to Buddhist teachings about the path to enlightenment.

“Gordon always told me I owed it to the world to make art. So now, every time I walk into my studio, I see him there with me,” Zach says.

Finding meaning in everyday life

Zach’s work often transforms ordinary moments into something sacred. Take his sculpture of a motorbike taxi driver, a familiar sight in Vietnam. But in his eyes, the man resting on his motorbike under a Bodhi tree becomes a modern-day Bodhisattva, a symbol of compassion and spiritual wisdom.

There’s even a wordplay: in Vietnamese, a motorcycle taxi is a xe ôm, which means “hug vehicle.” In his mind, it becomes Say Om, connecting it with the sacred ‘Om’ sound from Buddhist mantras.

The figure is also a self-portrait, because Zach used himself as a model. At first, he felt strange about putting himself in the place of a holy figure. But a friend reminded him that in Buddhist teaching, the Buddha-nature is in all of us.

“It made sense to me,” he says. “This is about seeing something sacred every day.”

Hands, craft, and technique

Zach’s process is hands-on, patient, and sometimes repetitive, but he loves that. He likes working with metal, wood, plaster, and paint, often using traditional craft methods alongside modern tools like laser cutting.

He cares about the details: shadows, textures, reflections. In some pieces, he designs surfaces that cast dramatic shadows on the wall, inspired by Carl Jung’s idea of the ‘shadow self.’ In others, he uses mirrors or shiny metal so the viewer sees themselves reflected back, becoming part of the artwork.

Time is another hidden layer in his work. Many of his pieces take weeks or months to finish, partly because he likes projects that require him to slow down, pay attention, and think deeply while his hands work.

“Another color is time,” he says. “The hours I spend on a piece are part of what gives it meaning.”

Change as a constant theme

While his work explores many subjects, there’s an undercurrent that ties it all together: change. Whether it’s the loss of a friend, moving to a new country, or the swirl of life on the streets of Saigon, Zach’s art is about embracing transformation.

His show Current is exactly that, an honest snapshot of where he is right now. Different materials, different styles, all connected by one thread: this is what’s true for him today.

What’s next?

After finishing this latest show, Zach’s next adventure is still unfolding. He wants to take his work outside the walls of traditional galleries. He likes to explore abandoned spaces, make art on-site, and share the process with people.

“Sometimes I make art in abandoned buildings. I have painted a lot of graffiti in abandoned buildings and I'm drawn to those spaces. But because of the exploration of it, the discovery of a new place, it feels like an adventure”.

He also wants to spend more time showing his process online, so more people can see how an idea becomes an artwork and maybe inspire them to make things too.

Advice for new artists

When asked what he’d say to young artists, his answer is simple and down-to-earth: “Start with whatever you have. Pick up a pen and paper. Make something, see what happens. Be open to what it teaches you.”

“I don't think it really needs to be too formal or expensive. I think it definitely shouldn't be. I think it needs to be what's easiest. I mean, if you have to draw with your finger in the dust on the ground, and be open to what it teaches you. But be active and then be receptive by trying to pay attention to the things within it, within that process that are meaningful to you, and try them.”

Zach’s career is proof that you don’t need to fit into just one box. You don’t have to do it like everyone else. What matters is staying curious, honest, and willing to let your art — and life — change you.

Why his work matters

In a world that moves too fast, Zach’s art asks you to slow down. To see the layers. To feel the flow. He makes work that’s raw, thoughtful, and deeply personal.

Maybe that’s why people connect with it so easily. It’s about seeing what’s possible when you pay attention to the world around you, to the people you love, and to yourself.

So next time you see his name on a show, step inside. Look at the metal folds, the brushstrokes, the shadows on the wall. Say Om. And maybe, for a moment, you’ll feel that same flow that runs through his hands and into each piece: alive, moving, always changing — just like us.