Han Nguyen
The Joseph Bellows Gallery is pleased to present two new photographic series by Han Nguyen, Flow and Model Home.
The subject of the Flow series is water. The photographer creates the images by mixing water with concentrated liquid watercolor to produce vivid shades of yellow, purple, lime, aqua, and olive. He then captures the movements of the liquid on film. Nguyen's still photographs allow the viewer to observe the subtle waves, ripples, shapes and patterns of flowing water. The color intensifies the water's surges and undulations. The viewer is drawn to consider the curiosity of water - that it may be peaceful or violent.
For the Model Home series, Nguyen molds small homes and buildings out of white clay. The tiny models, most of which measure only two or three inches, are then photographed against a solid black background. In this series Nguyen acts as an architect, creating imaginative, primitive, and elegant forms. For the artist, the white clay denotes purity. Nguyen has explored the sacredness of the home in his Interiors series. The Model Home series echoes this same theme and addresses the notions of domesticity and place.
Like Nguyen's earlier work, such as his Gesture and Rock Portrait series, Flow and Model Home possess a quiet and humble beauty. These are pensive images that are beautifully composed and exquisitely printed.
This is Nguyen's second solo exhibition at Joseph Bellows Gallery. His work has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. In 1999, Nguyen had a solo show at the Museum of Photographic Arts, San Diego, where his work is also in the permanent collection. Nguyen's work is included in the current exhibition, Picturing Eden, at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York.