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Cave Matter is an exhibition of new paintings by Tammy Nguyen which draws from her recent written work, Phong Nha, the Making of an American Smile (Ugly Duckling Presse, 2020). The publication is a story about a girl who was born missing two of her front teeth, the Phong Nha Karst, the man made island known as Forest City, and Plato’s The Allegory of the Cave. In weaving these seemingly disparate narratives together, Nguyen’s project probes at the confusing truth about “truth”.
This viewing room is accompanied by a playlist by DJ Pers Lab, aka the artist Emmy Catedral.
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Tammy NguyenBats from The Good Light, 2019Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panel24 x 36 in
61 x 91.4 cm -
Tammy Nguyen...he gnawed the steak off its T-bone..., 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels14 x 11 in.
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Tammy NguyenThe organisms around us had been dead for millions of years, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels16 x 20 in
40.6 x 50.8 cm -
Tammy Nguyena big round disc hitting the cave rock with its bright good light, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels24 x 20 in
61 x 50.8 cm
Jungle Sauce
Artist EditionJungle Sauce is an edible concoction made of lemon leaves, cilantro, mint, sugar, lemon juice, salt, pepper, chili, and olive oil. It is inspired by “cheo” a sauce from the Quang Binh Province in Vietnam where the Phong Nha karst is located. When Nguyen traveled to Phong Nha to research this project, she ate the sauce for the first time and her tour guide showed her how to make it. It can be eaten with any simple food such as boiled chicken and noodles.
This sauce is made in small batches in Nguyen’s kitchen using local ingredients in New York City. The label includes an excerpt from Phong Nha, the Making of an American Smile, and is letterpressed on marbled paper by Nguyen, who considers this creation an artist book.
Jungle Sauce may be purchased online or on-site in the gallery.
Works
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Tammy Nguyenghosts, waiting in the caves to catch you, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels20 x 16 inches
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Tammy NguyenYou could eat anything you found in the forest, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels30 x 24 in
76.2 x 61 cm -
Tammy Nguyenthe meeting of acidic water and corrosive rock, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels24 x 20 in
61 x 50.8 cm -
Tammy Nguyeneach long note slurring into the next, never a bright interval, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels18 x 24 in
45.7 x 61 cm -
Tammy NguyenThis is how the village people bury their dead, 2020Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panels24 x 20 in
61 x 50.8 cm -
Tammy NguyenButterfy Swarm Over Rocks Study No. 1 , 2020Watercolor, and vinyl paint on paper stretched over wood panels6 x 4 in
15.2 x 10.2 cm -
Tammy NguyenBat Swarm Over Rocks Study No. 1 , 2020Watercolor, and vinyl paint on paper stretched over wood panels6 x 4 in
15.2 x 10.2 cm -
Tammy NguyenThe Good Light Study No. 2, 2019Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panel6 x 4 in
20.3 x 15.2 cm -
Tammy NguyenThe Good Light Study No. 3, 2019Watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood panel6 x 4 in
15.2 x 10.2 cm
Ugly Duckling Presse | Excerpt from Phong Nha, the Making of an American Smile | Spotify Playlist
Tammy Nguyen was born in San Francisco, CA and lives and works in New York CIty. Nguyen received a BFA from Cooper Union in 2007. The following year she was awarded a Fulbright scholarship to study lacquer painting in Vietnam, where she remained and worked for a ceramics company for three years thereafter. In 2013, Nguyen received an MFA from Yale, and was awarded the Van Lier Fellowship at Wave Hill in 2014. Her work has been exhibited at the Rubin Museum of Art, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre in Vietnam, the Bronx Museum, and is included in the permanent collections of Yale University, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, MIT Library, the Seattle Art Museum, the Walker Art Center Library, and the Museum of Modern Art Library. Recent solo and two person exhibitions include, The Ship Named Atlast, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond VA (2019); Necessary Fictions with Ha Ninh Pham, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam (2019); The Ship Named Atlast, Lightwell Gallery, University of Oklahoma, Norman OK (2019); and One Blue Eye, Two Servings with Nicole Won Hee Maloof, CRUSH Curatorial, New York NY (2018). Tammy Nguyen is also the founder of Passenger Pigeon Press, an independent press addressing geopolitics, science and identity through visual art and writing, and is an Assistant Professor of Art at Wesleyan University.
