Van Nguyen

Artist Statement

Painting is a powerful language in which I express myself and communicate. The message within each painting is an illustrated element or aspect of my life. I paint the moments that capture me — the beautiful and the painful — for the exquisiteness of any moment can make me cry, and then I paint. Sketching and drawing are tools of my vocabulary with which I discover and reveal my thoughts and feelings, and when I forget that I am making art — when I am purely communicating — I am free.

In my view, making art is not only about creating beautiful work for display, but also about communicating and educating the viewers. I want to have an artistic voice that will help to share my life concerns. I use painting as a powerful language to communicate with people. My aim is to make a body of work that will have a destiny. When I paint, I ask myself: How does my work benefit the community? My experience growing up in Vietnam was extremely influential to my development as an individual and as an artist. I immigrated to the United States in 1992, leaving post-revolutionary Vietnam at the height of political and social unrest. The Vietnamese struggle for an identity both as a nation and as individuals is the main source for my work. The subjects matter in my work—forms and characters—reflects my deep appreciation of the beauty of nature. When I share my creations with the outside world, my real goal is to be more than a maker of objects, but an educator of those values.