SARASOTA, FLA. – Figurative imagery, abstract forms, tropical vegetation and symbolic motifs descend upon a gallery of music-infused works in Tammy Nguyen’s new solo exhibition “Timaeus and the Nations,” on view now through January 19 at Sarasota Art Museum. The exhibition marks the debut of new paintings, embroidered tapestries and an artist book.
In “Timaeus and the Nations,” Nguyen delves into the complexities of national identity, global order and subjectivity in the Twenty-First Century. Nguyen uses Plato’s Timaeus, which explores the nature of the physical and human world, as a metaphor for the geopolitical theater surrounding an international practice known as the flags of convenience, which permits shipowners to register their vessel with a country different from their own, thereby allowing them to take advantage of lower taxes or looser regulations.
“Tammy Nguyen uses innovative techniques and blends mediums to create visually arresting works that help us discover lesser-known histories and see well-known images in new ways,” said Virginia Shearer, executive director of Sarasota Art Museum. “Our goal at Sarasota Art Museum is to bring our visitors pioneering artists who help us see the world anew – and ‘Timaeus and the Nations’ does just that.”
A series of tapestries combine the 46 countries that have been or are currently participating in the flags of convenience. Each tapestry pairs two of these countries; from each pairing, Nguyen creates haikus by appropriating lyrics from the respective countries’ national anthems. To complicate the haikus and build further unity, Nguyen then takes the 17 syllables of each poem and revises them again – this time back into music. This process yields a key paradox. The 17 syllables are written into four measures of music with room for only 16 beats. By manipulating the rhythm of the notes so that an odd number fits into an even structure, Nguyen emphasizes the contradiction inherent in world order.
Nguyen is renowned for her densely layered, complex paintings and sculptural artist books. She is deeply interest.eel in colonial history, philosophy, semantics and in probing at ideas of moral ambiguity and confusion. With their beautiful, ornate surfaces and colors, her captivating works entice viewers into a web of entangled historical narratives The Sarasota Art Museum isat 1001 South Tamiami Trail. For more information, 941-309-4300 or www.sarasotaartmuseum.org.
Image caption: “Mother!” by Tammy Nguyen (American, b 1984), 2024, watercolor, vinyl paint, pastel, silkscreen printing, rubber stamping, hot stamping and metal leaf on paper stretched over wood and gator board panel, 60 by 84 inches. Courtesy of the artist and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Seoul and um.org. London. Photo: Daniel Kukla.
