LOIS LAMBERT GALLERY
HUNG VIET NGUYEN: PILGRIMAGE
November 18, 2023 - January 6, 2024
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 18, 6-9PM
HUNG VIET NGUYEN, Sacred Landscape V #31, oil on wood panel, 36” x 48”
Lois Lambert Gallery presents Pilgrimage, the most recent exhibition of work by painter Hung Viet Nguyen.
Pilgrimage showcases a selection of Nguyen’s highly textured and fantastical landscapes. Nguyen draws inspiration from his travels through many different countries and regions, painting landscapesfrom his imagination, rather than specific places. Nguyen experiments in the realm of whimsy with swirling layers of paint, fields of bold color, and playful forms.
After sketching out a loose and fluid composition, Nguyen begins building the artwork with a palette knife and thick brushstrokes, layering the paint to add texture. While portions of Nguyen’s worksuggest the influence of traditional woodblock prints, East Asia scroll paintings, ceramic art, mosaic, and stained glass, he ultimately is a contemporary painter.
Nguyen often uses respresentations of “sacred geometry,” the underlying geometry in nature. The waterfalls cascading through the compositions symbolize an unending cycle of moving inward and outward simultaneously, while the half-circle gates in some of the works symbolize oneness or wholeness. Nguyen’s paintings come from a place of deep admiration and respect for nature, seeking to celebrate the natural world from an emotional and spiritual place, rather than a religious one. “My work is all about the spirit of freedom and positive energy.”
Hung Viet Nguyen was born in Saigon Vietnam in 1957. He studied Biology at Science University, then transitioned to working as an illustrator, graphic artist, and designer after settling in the U.S. in 1982. He developed his artistry skills independently, studying many traditional Eastern and Western forms, media, and techniques. Nguyen’s work has been shown at the Laguna Art Museum, CA; Long Beach Museum of Art, CA; Riverside Art Museum, CA; Oceanside Museum of Art, CA; Torrance Art Museum, CA; Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum, CA; Fullerton Museum of Art, CA; San Diego Museum of the Living Artist, CA; Bridgehampton Museum, NY; and the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum, CA; among others. His work is part of collections at the New York Public Library and Cerritos College Public Art Collection and has been featured on the cover of Artillery Magazine.
Lois Lambert Gallery, Bergamot Station
2525 Michigan Ave., #E3, Santa Monica, CA 90404
(310) 829-6990 | info@loislambertgallery.com
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00am - 6:00pm