In the summer of 2023, RMCAD students interviewed our 2022-2024 Resident Artists in their studios. Their video interview of Christine Nguyen explores the origins of her love for nature, and how her relationship to the natural world translates to her art practice.
Christine Nguyen was born and raised in California and currently resides in Aurora, Colorado and also works in Long Beach, California. She is a lover of animals, plants, and nature. She received her B.F.A from California State University, Long Beach and M.F.A from University of California, Irvine.
Exhibitions of her work have been shown nationally and internationally. Her works can be found in various collections such as the J.Paul Getty Museum Department of Photographs, Getty Research Institute, Armand Hammer Museum, Grunwald Center for Graphic Art, Los Angeles World Airport’s Collection, Cedars- Sinai in Los Angeles, CA; Burger Collection, Hong Kong; The Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT), Hanoi, Vietnam; Long Beach Museum of Art, Kleefeld Contemporary Art Museum in Long Beach, California; Cleveland Clinic, Cleveland, Ohio; and Microsoft Collection.
“Contemporary art, to me, is a place where people can share their experiences and stories to the community. Contemporary art can be anything—whatever anyone wants expressed in the current time.”
Watch the video of Christine in her RedLine studio below to learn more about her and her practice!
Video Transcription
“My name is Christine Nguyen. I'm a visual artist. I was born and raised in California. I'm interested in the natural world and how we connect to things. Well, I started to get involved in public art because I really liked how the fact that public art is for everyone.
“Having my art work in galleries and museums is very limited to who sees art. Public art is a good entry way of having the community see my work and for me to engage with them through community projects, besides actual public record pieces.
“My bachelor degree is actually in photography. I got my BFA in photography at Cal State Long Beach in California. That's when I experimented a lot on different photo processes. Cyanotype is one of the things I learned at an early age, which has continued in my practice.
“I really like the analog aspect of it, and using nature to create words. Cyanotype is a photo-based process where it's a light sensitive substrate that you put objects on and then you expose it to the sun. Then you wash it in water to create a blue and white print that's developed and fixed.
“I would say nature is my big influence, as far as reading the discoveries in the natural world, things outer space, water. Usually it's like scientific research, music. I know there's so many bands, it's always hard to...Like ‘What's your favorite band?’ I like all kinds of music. I feel like that question is very similar to music. It's hard to pick out the favorite piece.
“But I do say, I am interested in the works where it's mixed medium or installation and it combined mediums, like sculptural ceramic elements or any other sculptural elements with a 2D. I think that would be my favorite pieces to create.
“My dad was a commercial fisherman growing up. And I realized that...I mean, not until my thirties is when I put the connection together of why I was interested in natural world. Like being on his boat growing up and seeing the things he's pulled out of the water has really influenced my practice.
“I use a lot of colorism in my work, because I feel like it evokes good energy and contributes to the healing process [which I hope my artwork] provides. Like positive energy, healing, and just a way to draw people in. I think everyone is always attracted to color, too.
“I would say I think since my undergrad studies, I've always done photography. So my favorite process would be photo-based process where I'm drawing on a layer of line art and then using it as a negative to put the image. Once again, my works in general is mixed media, combining mediums. So I feel like photography, and drawing and painting are probably my core processes.
“I'm hoping to expand to do more sculptural. I feel like art is very limited in everyone's daily lives. So having these community workshops gives people access to creating artwork. And through creating artwork, I feel like it gives people...It brings joy, I think, in people's lives.
“I would say California has been...where I grew up, has been inspiring. And then moving to Colorado, maybe three or four years ago, has been very inspiring. Other places in the world that I really love, so Iceland is a place I gravitate to. One of the many places.
“Contemporary art to me feels...what it means to me is it's a place where people can share their experiences and stories to the community. Contemporary art, I feel like can be anything, whatever anyone wants expressed in the current time.”
