KENNY NGUYEN
20 DECEMBER 2024 — 09 FEBRUARY 2025
KENNY NGUYEN
MOTHER | LAND
MAYA FRODEMAN GALLERY
MOTHER | LAND
Kenny Nguyen creates expansive, dimensional, mixed-media paintings that center on ideas of cultural identity, displacement and integration. Nguyen uses color and silk as a way of mapping memories to visually de- and re-construct his own identity. He begins by tearing swaths of natural silk fabric into hundreds of strips that he dips in acrylic paint and adheres to raw canvas. Methodically, almost meditatively, he repeats the process—tearing, painting, sanding, sewing, weaving, attaching, layering—until he has a structured but malleable medium, which he shapes into undulating, sculpted forms. A repeated process of destruction and reconstruction, Nguyen’s practice has become the bond that has fashioned both of his cultures together, and a mode of both exploration and reflection.
This monumental solo exhibition is Kenny Nguyen’s first with Maya Frodeman Gallery. Mother | Land focuses most prominently on the abstract works from three of his most recent series, Encounter, Passage and Eruption. Encounter, Passage and Eruption were born out of Nguyen’s recent trip back to his homeland of Vietnam. It was the first time he had been back in thirteen years, and he was profoundly influenced by unexpected and poignant feelings of alienation as he reflected on and grappled with the ways in which his own identity and his home country have shifted. “Things felt out of order again,” Nguyen said. “It was quite shocking to me, and brought me back to the moment I first moved to the United States.”
Nguyen grew up on a coconut farm in a rural area near the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam amongst many silk farms. Despite having established a career in fashion design, he decided to join his family when they moved to the United States in 2010. Acclimating to an American way of life proved uneasy at first, especially with a language barrier that intensified feelings of alienation and isolation. Nguyen turned to art-making as a coping mechanism and as a means to express himself in a more universal language. He began to cultivate an artistic practice centered around silk, to explore his personal and cultural identity. In
addition to its significance to Nguyen’s background in fashion, silk has long been a symbol of wealth and beauty in Vietnam, and that status has shaped Vietnam’s economics, policy and culture for thousands of years. Nguyen has pushed the medium and developed a distinctive technique to produce sensual, three-dimensional works that he describes as “deconstructed paintings.” Informed by his training in fashion, he often installs each piece sculpturally with pushpins, allowing him the flexibility to rehang or adjust the composition as desired. The works can be stretched flat like a traditional canvas or gently draped, folded and creased into animated structures. Nguyen views the resulting malleable forms as embodying to the transformations of each of our identities over time.
In the Passage series, Nguyen presents stoic, meditative works, which, though still fashioned from silk, acrylic and canvas, are more akin to Western color field painting. Nguyen used sand and dirt in these works to create more texture. The result is structured, almost topographic, compositions like Passage No. 1 (2024) and Passage No. 3 (2024), where forms steadily float amongst sandy neutrals. Colors that recall the signature vibrancy of Nguyen oeuvre peek through in some areas of the elemental works, but are moderated by the distinctly quieted compositions. These works represent the time immediately after his journey in which Nguyen reflected and processed his feelings during his time in Vietnam. “It’s a reflection of how I see myself. It’s a renewal, a rebirth. In these works, I tried to explore how I define myself in this time and space,” Nguyen reflected.
The stillness of the Passage works finds its foil in the Eruption series, which immediately followed. Bursting and flowing with movement and color, these works are Nguyen’s effort to find order in chaos, in his ways in which his identity once again felt fraught. When getting lost in the lucidity of the chromatic undulations, it is evident that Nguyen has found full control over his created medium. His mastery of his onceexperimental media has positioned Nguyen as a conductor, and, in this series, he has orchestrated a dialectical harmony. In Vietnamese, words that denote colors are incredibly specific, infused with descriptive meanings and references, giving Nguyen an extraordinary perspective
on the dynamism of color as a visual language in addition to an aesthetic expression. Colors become a language for memory and place, and Nguyen decisively engages this language through the specific meanings and precise combinations of colors to tell the story of his experience.
Kenny Nguyen was born in in Ben Tre Province of Vietnam in 1990. Nguyen graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Fashion Design from National University of Art and Architecture, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam in 2010. He later graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Art in Painting from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, in Charlotte, NC, in 2015. Nguyen’s recent solo exhibitions include those at Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore; Mint Museum, Charlotte, North Carolina; Sugarlift Gallery. New York, New York; Sozo Gallery, Charlotte North Carolina; Deiglan Gilfelagio Gallery, Akureyri, Iceland; and M Gallery, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art Museum, South Korea. Nguyen has participated in group exhibitions across the globe, including at Sotheby’s, London, UK; Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA (forthcoming); the Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul; CICA Museum (Czong Institute for Contemporary Art), Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, Korea; Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf, Germany; LaGrange Art Museum, Georgia; Museum of Contemporary Art, Jacksonville, Florida; Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, California; and The Rayburn House Office Building, United States Capitol Complex, Washington, DC.
In 2016, Nguyen received the Excellence Asia Contemporary Young Artist Award from Sejong Museum of Art and in 2023, he received a nomination for the Joan Mitchell Fellowship. In 2024, Nguyen also received the Asian Art in London’s Modern & Contemporary Asian Art Award, presented by Sotheby’s. He has been awarded numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies, including but not limited to the Artist Residency Fellowships from the Ragdale Foundation, Chicago, IL; The Hambidge Center, GA; Vermont Studio Center, VT; Gil Artist Residency, Akureyri, Iceland; Château d’Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France; and AIR Guidiguada Gran Canaria, Spain. Kenny Nguyen lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina.
PASSAGE NO. 1, 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
110 x 93 inches
PASSAGE NO. 2, 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
108 x 91 inches
PASSAGE NO. 3 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
116 x 96 inches
DECONSTRUCTION NO. 2 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
71 x 92 inches
ERUPTION SERIES NO. 48, 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
83 x 62 inches
ERUPTION SERIES NO. 52, 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
83 x 62 inches
ENCOUNTER SERIES NO. 23 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint, and canvas
Mounted on wall
72 x 60 inches
ENCOUNTER SERIES NO. 33 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
71 x 103 inches
ENCOUNTER SERIES NO. 34 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
72 x 91 inches
UNTITLED , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
71 x 66 inches
86 x 121 inches
CHAM NO. 2 , 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
UNTITLED, 2024
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
71 x 94 inches
METAMORPHISIS , 2022
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
Mounted on wall
72 x 48 inches
Mounted on wall
72 x 60 inches
TOUCH , 2022
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas
TOUCH NO. 2 , 2024
84 x 116 inches
Hand-cut silk fabric, acrylic paint and canvas Mounted on wall
KENNY NGUYEN
Born in the Ben Tre Province, Vietnam in 1990
Lives and works in Charlotte, North Carolina
EDUCATION
2010 BFA, National University of Art and Architecture, Ho Chi Min City, Vietnam
2015 MFA, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC, USA
SELECTED AWARDS, GRANTS, & RESIDENCIES
2024 Asian Art in London’s Modern & Contemporary Asian Art Award, presented by Sotheby’s, London, UK
2023 Joan Mitchell Fellowship (Nominated)
2022 AIR Guiniguada, Gran Canaria Island, Spain
2020 Judy Sigunick Fellowship for Visual Artist in Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
2020 Gilfélag Artist Residency, Akureyri, Iceland
2019 The Denis Diderot [A-i-R] Grant, Château d’Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France
2019 Regional Artist Project Grant, Charlotte Arts and Science Council, Charlotte, NC
2019 Artist Residency Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
2018 Visual Artist Residency Fellowship, Hambidge Center for Creative Art and Science, Rabun Gap, GA
2018 Merit-based Artist Residency Fellowship and Work-exchange Award, VSC, Johnson, VT
2017 Charlotte Visual Artist Grant, HappeningsCLT Magazine, Charlotte, NC
2017 Asia Contemporary Young Artist Excellence Award, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2024 Mother | Land, Maya Frodeman Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY Eruption, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore
Adaptations, Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
Cham:Mapping Identity, Sugarlift Gallery. New York, NY
2023 Home/land, Sugarlift Gallery. New York, NY
Intertwined, Susan O. Ahern Gallery, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI
2021 Mirrors and Veils, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton, OH
Kenny Nguyen: Identity, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte NC
2020 Infinite Threads, Olin Fine Art Gallery, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Marks on the Skin, Deiglan Gilfelagio Gallery, Akureyri, Iceland
Reconstruction, The Cloyde Snook Gallery, Adam State University, Alamosa, CO
2019 Interwoven, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2018 ‘Kenny Nguyen: The Indescribable Fears’, M Gallery, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art Museum, South Korea
‘Interbeing’, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte, NC
2016 Space of Otherness, Allenton Gallery, Durham Art Councils, Durham, NC
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2025 Hoa Tay (Flower Hands), Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA (forthcoming)
2024 Eastern Exposure: Meaning & Materiality in Contemporary Asian Art, presented by Sotheby’s, London, UK
Nordart, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf Germany
2023 Contemporary Cartographies, Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, FL
Nordart, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf Germany
Băng Qua Nước : Across Land, Across Water, CCACC Art Gallery, MD
2022 Infinite Thread, Sugarlift, NYC, NY
2021 Reconstructing Deconstruction, Brooklyn Collective Gallery, Charlotte NC
Material Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton TX
2019 Collective(in)action, Memorial Union Gallery, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
Constant/Change: Statements from New Generation of North Carolina Artist, Greenhill Center for North Carolina Arts, Greensboro, NC
Strive: National exhibition highlighting American Immigration and the American Dream, D’Art Center, Norfolk, VA
The Fridge Show, Dinney House, Vermont Studio Center, VT.
Artfields, Southeast Artist Competition, Lake City, SC
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Raleigh, NC
2018 Suspend, The Cloyde Snook Gallery, Adam State University, Alamosa, CO
Peace & Justice, DSU Center Gallery, Delaware State University, Dover, DE
Artfields, Jones-Carter Gallery, Lake City, SC
Roderick MacKillop Memorial Alumni Art Exhibition, Rowe Gallery, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
2017 Vietnamerica, Art Exhibition, Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion at Capitol Hill, Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
‘What makes Life an Art’, Gwanghwamun International Art Festival, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
45th International Art Exhibition, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Betty McCain Gallery, Raleigh, NC. Juror: Michael Rooks
2016 CICA’2016 Artist and Location, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Fearless, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
Tallahassee International Exhibition, Florida State University Museum of Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL
Asia Contemporary Young Artist Award Exhibition, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Betty McCain Gallery, Raleigh, NC, Juror: Bradley Sumrall
First LaGrange Southeast Regional Exhibition, LaGrange Art Museum, La Grange, GA. Juror: Deanna Sirlin
2015 Generations: 40 Hues of Black and White, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA, Curators: Dinh Q. Le, Stephen Anderson
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCES
2021-2024 Curatorial Board, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest IL
2024 Artist Talk, Meet the Maker, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, NC
2023 ‘Contemporary Cartographies’ Artist Talk, Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, FL
2022 ‘Crossing Boundaries’ Lecture, Akureyri Museum of Art, Akureyri, Iceland
Juror (Jury Panel), Ohio Art Council for Visual Artist Individual Excellence Award, OH
2021 Guest Artist, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
2020 Visiting Artist, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Visiting Artist, Adams State University, Alamosa, CO
Artist Talk, POV Artist Program, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest IL
Artist Lecture ‘Materials in Contemporary Art’, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland
2019 Visiting Artist, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Artist Lecture ’Silk: A metaphor of Identity’, Elder Gallery for Contemporary Art, Charlotte NC
Artist’s talk ‘Stimulus: Creation in Threads’, McColl Center for Art and Innovation, Charlotte, NC 2019
Juror (Jury Panel), Hambidge Center, Visual Artist Residency Application, Rabun Gap, GA
2018 Guest Lecturer, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
2016 Instructor, Silk painting and Ink-wash painting, Durham Art Council, Durham, NC
2007-2010 Assistant Fashion Designer, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES
2022 Roberts, Liza, et al. “Kenny Nguyen.” Art of the State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 2022, pp. 88–89.
2021 Logan, Liz. “The Silk Road - Kenny Nguyen’s art is an epic tale sculpted with silk”. Queen City Nerve, 7 Sep. 2021, pp 8-9.
2020 Truc, Doan. “Kenny Nguyen – Dreams of a butterfly.” Elle Decoration Vietnam, 16 May. 2020, pp. 24-27.
2019 Pressler, Alyssa, and Daremen J. “Artist Kenny Nguyen and ‘a Beautiful Way to Communicate’.” The Charlotte Observer Online, 23 Jan. 2018 Im, Seonyoung, and Seungsub Baik . “Kenny Nguyen, The Indescribable Fears.” CICA Art Now 2018, edited by Hyunjin Bang, CICA Press, 2018, pp. 112–120.
