Today we’d like to introduce you to Christine Nguyen.
Christine, before we jump into specific questions about your work, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Born and raised in California, I’ve always been a maker and a nature collector since I was a child. My father was a commercial fisherman growing up, so I was exposed to various things he pulled from the sea. When I was twelve, he gave me his analogue SLR camera and spent a lot of time photographing the things I love: my family, pets, animals, objects, nature and the environment around me. I also spent a lot of time collecting nature, pressing plants and drawing. I studied art in college at California State University, Long Beach and received my B.F.A in photography and my graduate degree at the University of California, Irvine in studio art where I got to experiment more with various mediums. It’s funny how some things don’t change. I still love taking photos of my environment, collect nature and still press plants but now it’s integrated into my art practice. In Los Angeles, I worked at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Research Institute for 14 years as a photographer right after grad school while pursuing my career as an artist. Early last year, I quit the Getty and decided to do art full time. I moved to Lafayette, Colorado last December and recently moved to Denver a month ago and learning more about the region and exploring the breathtaking nature found within the state. I’ve been slowly settling into my new adventure in my life and have been excited about immersing myself in a different kind of nature
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
It’s never a smooth road in any field only different kinds of challenges. I have always tried to put my work out there and remember when I first started college I would approach any place to exhibit my work and find various alternative spaces. I do believe if you keep on showing your work and applying to various grants and artist residencies someone is going to see your work and it could lead to other things in the present or the future. More importantly, I realized as long as I am happy making my art then I will continue to make work even though there has been financial hardship in doing so at times and finding the balance of work, life and art are difficult. It is a constant struggle but is part of growth and the process.
Please tell us about your work.
My work draws upon the imagery of nature, the sciences, and the cosmos but it is not limited to a conventional reading of these realms. It imagines that the depths of the ocean reach into outer space, that through an organic prism, vision can fluctuate between the micro- and macroscopic. I’ve been drawn to 19th century Naturalists like Ernst Haeckel: biologist, philosopher, physician and artist; John Muir: writer, conservationist and advocate of the preservation of the wilderness and Anna Atkins: botanist and photographer. I feel very much connected to their research and interests and my list continues to grow.
My art practice ranges from 2D and 3D using various mediums such as drawing, painting, photography, installation, and sculpture. I love drawing on mylar, using alternative photographic processes such as cyanotypes and other experiments, create large installation murals of photo-based painting works as well as create immersive installations, grow salt crystals and work in ceramics, glass and metal.
For two decades, I have been an exhibiting artist locally (in Southern California), nationally, and internationally in museums and art galleries. Solo exhibitions of my work has been featured at the Hammer Museum, Michael Kohn Gallery, Baik Art, and Theodore Payne Foundation in Los Angeles, Crisp-Ellert Art Museum, St.Augustine, FL; 10 Chancery Lane Gallery, Hong Kong; Pataphysical Society PDX, Portland, Oregon and Galerie Quynh, Vietnam. My work has been included in group exhibitions at the Kunsthalle zu Kiel, Kiel, Germany; Laguna Beach Art Museum, Laguna Beach; Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena; San Art, Vietnam; Sprueth Magers Projeckte, Munich, Germany; Cemeti Art House, Yogyakarta, Indonesia; Hwangnyongsa Temple Cultural Center, Gyeongju, Korea and Churner and Churner, New York.
In the past several years, I have been involved in public art and have been translating my work into sustainable permanent materials for exteriors/interiors. My works can be translated in tile, mosaics, glass, printed onto metal and other substrates for public spaces.
I am interested in adding a new venture to my practice and would like to have more things on my online store such as prints and handmade objects varying in sizes and price range, mobiles, nature-related objects in resin, artist books and coloring books relating to my practice making it more accessible to the public while still making works for exhibitions and public art projects.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
Constantly exploring different mediums and challenging myself to come up with new ideas relating to my vision is my drive as I’m always learning about the world we live in and discovering the amazing abundance of wonder in nature. I am also not afraid of “failing” in my art experimentations or fear rejection letters when applying to grants and applications. It’s always a disappointment and defeating at first, but I always learn something from the process. So in the end, it’s not failing at all. It just makes me push harder and try more things. The key is to keep motivating yourself and don’t give up. Nature doesn’t and that’s why I love it soo much!
Contact Info:
- Website: www.christinenguyen.art
- Shop: www.christinenguyen.
art/store - Email: hello@christinenguyen.
art - Instagram: seamoonshe
Image Credit:
Christine & Joel Manning
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