Visit with Christian Nguyen

Working with brightly-hued shapes and systems, artist Christian Nguyen uses geometric abstraction as a means of storytelling. His latest paintings pare down his use of shapes and tonal range to create selective compositions valuing an economy of color and form. Step inside his studio as he walks us through his process.

Christian's studio practice began as an installation artist, building structures from wood, concrete and stone to create new perspectives of the natural and built environment. Furthering this exploration, he began to create architectural paintings, treating his canvas as an extension of a wall.

I began my studio practice as an installation artist – making environments and rooms that focused on a specific media. This developed into a series of architectural drawings which were made on a scale that made perspective an immersive experience.

Christian Nguyen

In recognition of the surface on which they hang, Christian's paintings flatten and extend space. He relates his paintings to architectural drawings, where the proportion of a space and its form are inherently connected. He challenges himself to invent a new image using the same approach, and force himself to see his work differently.

I began using paint as a medium because I wanted to explore what was on the surface of the wall, and a canvas is an extension of this wall.

Christian Nguyen

Recent inspiration stems from his time working as a photographer, both in architecture and as a collections photographer for the Museum of Natural History, and from explorations of architectural forms from Antiquity, like Native American art, mosaic patterns and tiles from Italy and Byzantine Cathedrals. His painting Latifah is an example of a work in this new direction.

This painting explores a new direction in my work in which the architectural forms become more gestural. I am currently inspired by calligraphy and arabesques.

Christian Nguyen