About Sarah Nguyen
Sarah Nguyen is a multi-media artist, working primarily with paper. Storytelling is central to her hand cut-fiber panels and paintings. The intricate compositions found in her work, are mostly landscape based and feature symbolic motifs—flora, fauna, and an ever-changing moon—to elicit childhood memories of myths, fables, and folklore. Nguyen uses a balance of abstract and representational forms in order to sever the connection between shape and meaning, connecting the viewer instead to the gesture of the brush or cut of the knife, so that s/he becomes complicit in the art. Myths, reverence and refinement of nature, and observance of daily life, are the concepts behind her work.
Nguyen’s work has appeared in numerous national and international solo and group exhibitions and publications. Her work has been part of nationally recognized exhibitions in museums and festivals.
She received her BFA in Illustration from Rhode Island School of Design and her MFA in Painting from the University of the Arts in Philadelphia.
She currently lives in Columbia, Missouri, USA with her husband, the writer Phong Nguyen, and their three sons.
New Brunswick Art Salon 2020 – “The Space Between” – Women’s Caucus for Art New York City Chapter
Artist Personal Website: http://www.sanguyen.com
Email: fairyeuropa@gmail.com
Artist Statement
Storytelling is central to this series of cut fiber panels. The blade cut, intricate compositions are mostly landscape based and feature symbolic motifs like flora, fauna, and reflecting myths, fables, and folklore about the women named in the Old Testament. The large sheets are hung from the ceiling and away from the wall so that directed light casts strong shadows behind them, a nod to the flickering, firelit rituals of our paleo ancestors. Fiber cutting is a means of making drawing three dimensional for the lacy panels entice us with their complexity and content. This work was completed during my time spent at the Isolation Digital Residency, conducted by Murze Magazine, during Spring 2020, COVID 19 pandemic.
Exhibitions
SOLO SHOWS:
2020 Gathering the Names, The Gallery at Penn College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA
2019 Become,Becoming, Works on Paper, Sinclair Community College, Ohio
2019 Portrait of a Lady, Resident Arts, Columbia, MO
2019 Women To Watch: Heavy Metals & Soft Materials, Art Ventures Gallery, Fayetteville, AR
2019 Winged Eclispsed, Momentary Shadows, Daum Museum of Contemporary Art, Sedalia, MO
2019 Furious Beauty, Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Worth, Texas
2019 Realer Than The Body, Joan Derryberry Gallery, Tennessee Tech, TN
2019 Break Into Blossom,Outer Gallery, Unviersity of Central Missouri, MO
2018 Bearing the Light, Mildred M. Cox Gallery Kemper Center for the Arts, William Woods University Fulton, MO
2017 Consulting a Harvestman, M.G. Nelson Family Gallery, SAA Visual Art Center, Springfield, IL
2017 All the Illustrious Shadows, Kishwaukee College Art Gallery, Kishwaukee College, Malta, IL
2017 They Lay Down Their Bones, Wiseman Gallery, Roque Community College, Grants Pass, OR
2016 Shadow Journeys, Janalyn Hanson White Gallery, Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, IA
2015-2016 The Mystery of Waking, Gallery 2, Appalachian Center for Craft, Tennessee Tech University, TN
2015 Restless Shadows, Thompson Gallery, Furman University, Greenville, SC
2015 Kami, Main Gallery, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO
2015 Tabimakura, Studio Kura Gallery, Studio Kura Co. Ltd. Itoshima
2015 Mysterious Bodies New Arts Program, Lehigh Valley and Berks, PA
2013 These Shadows Remain, Underground Gallery, Kansas City, MO
2013 My Dream Cain, Gallery 115, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO
2013 Faces of Motherhood, Holy Family University, Philadelphia, PA
2012 The Pale Cast of Thought, Lens Gallery, University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA
SELECTED SMALL GROUP SHOWS:
2020Small Expansive Moments,Greenville Center for Creative Arts,Greenville, SC
2017Cave Dwellers,Community Arts Network of Oneonta,Oneonta, NY
2017 Clara Hatton Gallery, Colorado State University, Fort Collins,CO
2016 East Meets West, Buckham Gallery Flint, Michigan
2016 R. G. Endres Gallery, Prairie Village, Kansas
2015 Before, Then, and Now ,(with Paul Martyka and Jonathan McFadden) Arts Council of York County Dalton Gallery, Rock Hill, SC
SELECTED GROUP SHOWS:
2020 The Space Between- Women’s Caucus for Art New York City Chapter, Alfa Art Gallery,New Brunswick, NJ
2020 Global Impact, Foundry Art Center, St. Charles, MO
2019 Stranger/Host, True/False Film Festival, Picture House, Columbia, MO
2019 Fresh Cuts: The Art of Papercraft, Crooked Tree Arts Center, MI
2018 Open Spaces (curated by Dan Cameron),Truman Library and Museum, Independence, MO
2018 Art From the Heartland Exhibition, Indianapolis, Indiana
2018 Solo Show(Down),Fort Worth Community Art Center, Fort Worth, TX
2018 Color of the Year Presented by Pantone and X-Rite,Urban Institute for Contemporary Art, Grand Rapids, MI
2017 Solar Flair: Celestial Bodies in Motion, Albrecht Kemper Museum of Art, St. Joseph, MO
2017Light and Shadow,Mildred M. Cox Gallery Kemper Center for the Arts
William Woods University, Fulton, MO
2017The 19th Annual National Juried Competition,: “Works of Paper” 2017, Long Beach Foundation of the Arts & Sciences, Long Beach Island, NJ
2017-2018 Teardrops That Wound: the Absurdity of War, George Tsutakawa Art Gallery, Wing Luke Museum of the Asian and Pacific American Experience,Commission Work “ Break Into Blossom”, In collaboration with Phong Nguyen and Justin Shaw
2016 Vision: An Artist’s Perspective, Gutfeund Cornett Art Kaleid Gallery San Jose, CA
2016 Novus Conceptum , Hannah Bacol Busch Gallery Bellaire, TX
2015 Generations: Forty Hues Between Black and White, OCCCA (Orange County Center for Contemporary Art), Santa Ana, CA
2015 Somewhere Between Black and White, Fiber Art Network, Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ
2015 Old Enough To Know Better, Cranes Art Gallery 105, Philadelphia, PA
2014 The 2nd Annual Juried Artist’s Book Exhibition, WoCA Projects, Fort Worth, Texas
2014 The Living Mark, Verum Ultimum Art Gallery, Portland OR
2014 Subconscious, Flow Art Gallery , St Louis MO
2014 A Dream and a Memory, St. Louis Artist Guild, St. Louis MO
2013 Missouri 50, Fine Art Building Sedalia , MO
2013 Art/Identity, Gallery 263, Cambridge, MA
2013 26th Annual Women’s Work, Old Court House, Woodstock, IL
2012 Contemporary Women Artists XVI, Saint Louis University Art Museum, St. Louis MO
2012 UCM Faculty Show, UCM Gallery of Art and Design, Warrensburg, MO
2012 Color!, BWAC, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Appearances, Provincetown Green Arts Festival, Shore Gallery, Provincetown, MA
2011 UCM Faculty Show, UCM Gallery of Art and Design-Main Gallery, Warrensburg, MO
2011 RMRE: 29th Annual River Market Regional Exhibition, Kansas City Artist Coalition, Kansas City, MO
2011 Cosmic Bodies, Hamilton Hall, Philadelphia, PA 2011 W.I.P, Hamilton Gallery, Philadelphia, PA2011 Art Unleashed, Hamilton Hall Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 UCM Faculty Show, UCM Gallery of Art and Design-Main Gallery, Warrensburg, MO
2010 W.I.P Show, Hamilton Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Drawing Studio, Rosenwald Wolf Gallery, Philadelphia, PA
2010 Small Works, N.A.W.A, New York, NY
2010 Small Works, The Richeson Gallery, Kimberly, WI
2008 The Aftermath, Target Gallery, Torpedo Factory, Alexandria, VA
2008 Are We There Yet?, ARC Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008 Traditions, Visions, and Herstory: Experiments in Wisdom, Rhonda Schaller Studio, New York, NY
2008 Open Painting 2008, Providence Art Club, Providence, RI
2008 11th International Exhibition, Woman Made Gallery, Chicago, IL
2008 Bitter Fruits, Altered Esthetics, Minneapolis, MN
2007 Small Works Exhibition, Attleboro Art Museum, Attleboro, MA
AWARDS
2018 UCM Foundations Grant, University of Central MissouriWarrensburg, MO
2018 Fort Worth Community CenterGrand Prize WinnerFort Worth, TX
2018 Galleri 2987Artist Creation GrantDetroit, MI
2017 Mildred M. Cox Gallery Kemper Center for the Arts,Best In ShowMildred M. Cox Gallery Kemper Center for the Arts,William Woods University, Fulton, MO
2015 New Arts Program, Winner of Solo Exhibition and Consultation Residency, Lehigh Valley and Berks, PA
2013 Honorable Mention, MO 50, Sedalia, MO
2013 Founder’s Choice Award, 26th Annual Women’s Work, Old Court House, Woodstock, IL
2007 Award of Distinction: Attleboro Art Museum, Attleboro, MA
ART DIRECTOR
2014- Pleiades Press and Pleiades Magazine, UCM, Warrensburg MO
ART RELATED EXPERIENCE
2018 Art Juror, Critters, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2018 Art Juror, Give A Gift of Art, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2016 Art Juror, Give A Gift of Art, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2014 Art Juror, Appetite, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2012 Art Juror, Eat Me!, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2011 Art Juror, Red, Columbia Art League, Columbia, MO
2011-2012 co-Curated, Don’t Look Down, West Collection, Oaks PA. An aerial installation of sculpture and photography
TEACHING
2018-2019 Art Instructor, Missouri Valley College, Marshall, MO Courses taught: Drawing I and Art Appreciation, Business of Art
2009- 2018, Art Instructor, University of Central Missouri, Warrensburg, MO
Classes taught: Drawing I, Drawing II, Design I, Design II, Painting I, Illustration Concepts, and Advanced Illustration, Ideas and The Visual Arts, Independent Studies in Painting and Illustration, Ideas in the Visual Arts
VISITING ARTIST/ RESIDENCIES
2020 World of Co International Artist Residency, Sofia, Bulgaria
2020 Isolation, Murze Magazine, online residency
2020 The Gallery at Penn College, Pennsylvania College of Technology, Williamsport, PA
2019 ARC Short Term Residency,S.T.A.R program,Chattanooga, TN
2018-2019 Artist Residency In Motherhood,Started by artist Lenka Clayton Columbia, MO
2018 Visiting Artist The Martha’s Vineyard Institute of Creative Writing
Martha’s Vineyard, MA
2018 Visting Artist Wing Luke Museum of the Asian and Pacific Experience, Seattle
2017 Visiting Arist Colorado State University. Fort Collins,CO
2016 Visiting Artist/ Residency, Studio Berry St Benoit du Sault, Loire Valley, France
2016 Visiting Artist Mount Mercy University Cedar Rapids, Iowa
2016 Visiting Artist Tennessee Tech University Smithville, TN
2015 Visiting Artist/ Residency, Studio Kura, Fukuoka, Japan
2015 Consultation Residency, New Arts Program, Lehigh Valley and Berks, PA
2011 Visiting Artist, Black Hawk College, IL Workshop: Egg-Tempera techniques, Mixed Media Techniques, Studio Visits to Foundation classes
SELECTED PUBLICATIONS
2020 Green Mountain Review, Issue V. 311, Johnson, Vermont
2020 Roundabout Author: Phong Nguyen Moon City Press, Author Series, Springfield, MO
2018-2019 Mid- American Review, Fall/Winter 2018 and Spring/ Summer 2019 Bowling Green State University, Ohio
2017 Creative Magazine Issue III, Work selected by Bridgette Mayer JohnsonCreative Magazine
2017Sophia and The Boy Who Fell Author: Traci Brimhall SeedStar Press, MO
2016 The Adventures of Joe Harper Outpost 19, CA
2016 The End of Pink, BOA Editions, Rochester, NY (cover)
2015 The Oklahoma Review, Fall/ Winter Issue 2015 , Cameron University, OK (cover, interior)
2014 Original Bodies, Southern Indian Review, New Harmony, IN (cover and cover design)
2014 Francis Jammes, Pleiades Press, Warrensburg MO (cover)
2014 Textbook of Alternate History, Queens Ferry Press, New York, NY (cover)
2013 Maternal Aesthetics: The Surprise of the Real Volume 5, Issue 2, 2013 Birkbeck University of London(interior)
2013 Kestrel, Fairmont State University, Fairmont WV (cover, interior)
Education
University of the Arts, Philadelphia, PA. Master of Fine Arts in Painting, 2012
Rhode Island School of Design, Providence, RI. Bachelor of Fine Arts in Illustration, 2001