Michelle Nguyen's Uninhibited Art in GalleriesWest Magazine

Vancouver painter Michelle Nguyen was recently interviewed by Portia Priegert of GalleriesWest for her exhibition "Of Tristia, Forlorn!" at Bau-Xi Vancouver. In the article, Michelle cites the wide-ranging influences on her painting practice: from poetry and digital culture to the writing of 20th century art critic John Berger, and even her personal background as a child of Vietnamese refugees.

"One of her favourite paintings is Apparitions in a Crowd. “I’ve always been interested in the macabre, and as a kid, had an active imagination and always worried about monsters and things. I don't know. I guess in some way they are kind of weird Freudian reflections of my unconscious, or something. I don’t think about it too much, to be honest. People are always asking me these questions and I don’t necessarily know how to answer. There’s a reason you choose painting instead of writing – because I don’t know how to express that in an articulate way in the English language.” - Portia Priegert on Michelle Nguyen

"Of Tristia, Forlorn!" is on view at Bau-Xi Vancouver until September 23. See the full Michelle Nguyen collection here.

Read the article on GalleriesWest