Cosmographies Imagined

Cosmographies Imagined is a solo exhibition by Christine Nguyen, featuring works that explore the relationship between the microcosm and the macrocosm. The sculptures and installations are encrusted with salt crystals or suspended from above, creating a sense of otherworldly landscapes. A photo-based painting installation drapes onto the floor, with salt crystals embedded, integrating found and created objects from the artist's collected archive on the piece.

The ceramic sculptures, inspired by sea urchins, coral, underwater flowers, something from another world are either delicately glazed or submerged in a supersaturated saltwater solution, allowing crystals to form through evaporation. Other objects found in the space also salt crystallized are reminiscent of remnants left behind by the sea or on another planet.

Suspended porcelain hand-built ceramic pieces are inspired by diatoms, fossils, atoms, and imagined microscopic life forms found today or ancient worlds, creating an intricate cosmos of constellations and stars within the exhibition space.

Cosmographies Imagined is an exploration of questioning our place in the universe and the mysteries of the cosmos and nature while instilling a sense of wonder, offering a glimpse of a possible, hopeful future if we realize the importance of taking care of our environment and one another.

ARTIST BIO:
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.

Nguyen 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.

Nguyen has completed artist residencies at Montello Foundation, NV; Pacific Bonsai Museum, WA; Gyeongju Int. Residency Art Festa 2018, S Korea; Theodore Payne Foundation, CA, BaikArt with Cemeti Art House, Indonesia; U.S Dept. of Interior- BLM Eastern interior AIR, Alaska; Wildfjords (WFAR), Iceland; Montalvo Art Center, CA; Tamarind Institute, NM; and the Headlands Center for the Arts, CA. Nguyen is currently a 2022-2024 Redline Artist in Residence in Denver, CO.

See more of Christine's work on her website and keep up on her lastest projects on Instagram!

PUBLIC HOURS:
Thursdays through Sundays, 12 pm – 6 pm