Tuan Nguyen

(American, born 1972, died 2024)

Tuan Nguyen (1972-2024) took the traditional materials of picture making and rearranged them in new ways to challenge meaning and reset expectations. His last artworks explore themes related to his own mortality, the cancer that weakened his body, and the afterlife.

Tuan Nguyen was born in Vietnam and raised in Florida. His art was informed by his experience and identity as a refugee, and the awareness of not belonging in either his homeland or the U.S. He earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree (1994) in painting from the University of Florida and a Master of Fine Arts degree (1999) in painting from the University of Washington. Tuan lived and worked in Seattle.