Trong Gia Nguyen

“My work examines structures of power in their myriad forms, making attempt to scrutinize the soft foundation upon which contemporary life plays out, often behind the façade of fairness, sincerity, security, tradition, and civility.” Often employing humor while at other times engaging sober reflection, Trong Gia Nguyen’s work elevates the condition of doubt and reveals the power structures behind our most trusted institutions and beliefs as they relate to the dynamics of domesticity, culture, politics, and economy. Self-reflexive by nature, Nguyen’s methods question the status quo through subtle modes of subversion and interruption. On the flipside, it is an aesthetically pessimistic vantage point, one of retreat that espouses a dimension of decadence, at the expense of charlatanism. Whether taking the form of sculpture, painting, iPhone applications, film, or web-based performance actions, Nguyen’s conceptual approach walks the fine line between joy and sorrow, subtlety and blatancy, night and light, and beauty and beast.