Huy Nguyen: Cross-eyed in the Crosshairs
January 07 - February 04,2023
From Cluley Projects:
"CLULEY PROJECTS is pleased to announce CROSS-EYED IN THE CROSSHAIRS, a solo exhibition by Dallas-based artist Huy Nguyen. The exhibition will be on view January 7 - February 4, 2023, at Cluley Projects, 2123 Sylvan Avenue. An opening reception will be held January 7th from 5 - 8 PM. The gallery is open weekly Wednesday through Saturday, 12 - 5 PM and by appointment.
Huy Nguyen's relationship to his creative practice is more in line with artists like Augustin Lesage and Martín Ramirez, who were less interested in meaning and figural representation than acknowledging the abstract forces that compelled them to create. His work channels the spirit of ambiguity and introspection, rendered in complex geometries and color. Nguyen’s vibrant compositions channel the spiritual energy of religious relics, superseding the limitations of language to express the sublime. In the words of Hilma af Klint, “Every Atom has its own midpoint, but each midpoint is directly connected to the midpoint of the universe.” It is in this nature his practice is rooted.
In Cross-eyed in the Crosshairs, the Dallas-based artist has assembled a diverse of body of work, drawing inspiration from spiritual practices, symbology and art history. His effusive altars compel the viewer to interpret meaning or, if they wish, quietly meditate. A compelling linguist, Nguyen breaks down the language of symbols that we encounter daily. As the title suggests, this exhibition critiques the sureness we have in language and symbols. By refusing clear meaning, Nguyen’s compositions cannot be pinned down in our interpretive crosshairs. Instead, he imagines a new, impressionistic dialect, retooled to express the ineffable.
Cross-eyed in the Crosshairs features a series of new paintings by the artist. The exhibited work plays with optical illusions as well as the relationship between shape and color. Formally, Nguyen’s paintings recall Islamic textiles, stained-glass windows, Op Art, and themes of spirituality in 20th century art.
Cross-eyed in the Crosshairs will be the artist’s first solo exhibition in Dallas.
About the Artists:
Huy Nguyen is a Vietnamese American artist, currently practicing in Dallas, Texas. He attended the Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts in Dallas, Texas—there, he began learning the foundations of art. He continued to expand the conceptual underpinnings of his creative practice at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts (SMFA) in Boston, Massachusetts.
Over the past ten years, Nguyen has lived in basements, warehouses, and communal artist spaces from Boston to Providence, Rhode Island. The chaos, improvisation and sustained exposure to experimental artists, spaces, and ideas continues to influence his life and creative practice.
About Cluley Projects and Erin Cluley Gallery:
Erin Cluley Gallery’s satellite space Cluley Projects opened in April 2021 and is housed in an 1100 sq ft space on Sylvan Avenue within walking distance from the Belmont Hotel. Cluley Projects will act as an incubator space focusing on regional artists and providing a platform for discovery and mentorship.
Erin Cluley Gallery opened its doors in West Dallas in 2014, igniting a creative movement and acting as a hub for visual arts and community engagement. After nearly five years on Fabrication Street, the gallery moved its main operation to Riverbend – a development in Dallas’ Design District celebrating the intersection between culture and commerce. "
Cluley Projects
2123 Sylvan Avenue, Dallas TX 75208
Dallas, Texas 75208
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