Artwork copyright Tuan Nguyen. Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artwork copyright Tuan Nguyen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Tuan Nguyen. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

Artwork copyright Marilyn Frasca. Photo courtesy of Washington State Arts Commission, 2021.

the days, 2020

Tuan Nguyen
(American, born 1972, died 2024)

Location: Pioneer Elementary School, Shelton

ABOUT THE ARTWORK

Tuan Nguyen stretched his canvas for the days to echo the shape of the spiderweb that is its central object. He painted it with watered down acrylic paint on raw canvas which absorbs the paint, both of which create a blurred result. Nguyen practiced kung fu and was influenced by "soft focus" where you look at a particular point, but you also look overall, with the result or goal of seeing everything. His spiderwebs make you focus, but they are also blurry so you can't focus. He thought of them as belng like cosmic portals, and noted, “My work is open to the unrecognizable, asking – what does something that we’ve never seen before look like?” He was also interested in how things draw us in but also catch us, and he loved Spiderman when he was growing up.

This artwork is part of a curated collection by Dawna Holloway in May 2021 at Pioneer Elementary, in Shelton, Western Washington. Holloway’s focus is the mystery of this world we find ourselves in together. Art can show us the world around us, as well as new ways of looking. Art is a tool and a language to express our vision of the world. These art examples remind us that art and its expression is always available to all of us.

This artwork was acquired for the State Art Collection in partnership with Pioneer School District.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

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.