Dark Matter of Fact, new solo exhibit from Christine Nguyen!

Hey, ho, whaddya know?! My good friend, Christine, is about to open a new solo exhibition of her artwork at the Angels Gate Cultural Center in San Pedro, CA (part of the greater Los Angeles basin). I have known her for many, many years and she's always been an inspiration! Her work is so unique and magical and wonderful...you've gotta check it out! www.lephant.com



This is what the press release has to say:
"Christine Nguyen: Dark Matter of Fact is the artist's second solo exhibition at the Center. In 2002, while still an undergraduate, Christine exhibited a body of early photo-based work in the Center's project space. Since that initial exhibition her work has exploded in complexity, composition and technique, building on the solid foundation of experimentalism and fantastic imagery found in her early works."

And her Artist Statement:

"My work draws upon the imagery of science, but it is not limited to technologies of the present. It imagines that the depths of the ocean reach into outer space, that through an organic prism, vision can fluctuate between the micro- and macroscopic. I have been developing a personal cosmology in which commonalities among species, forms, and environment become visible and expressive, suggesting past narratives and possible futures. The forms and environs in my work sometimes migrate into new pieces, establishing new systems. These systems imagine modes of transportation, communication, and regeneration. There are no waste materials in these worlds: vision is a renewable resource.

My recent work has been "photo-based", in that it combines drawing and photographic processes. "Negatives" are drawn on layers of Mylar, which are projected onto light-sensitive paper. The paper is developed in a color processor, creating a camera-less, photographic image. In addition to watercolor and ink, I use materials such as saltwater, seaweed, coral, minerals, and crystals to manipulate the "negative" and the print. The total process is similar to that of making a photogram."

- Christine Nguyen, 2009

Info for the show and Angels Gate:
February 28 - April 12, 2009
Opening Reception: Saturday, February 28, 2-4 pm
Gallery Hours: Tues - Sun, 10 am - 5 pm

Angels Gate Cultural Center is located at:
3601 South Gaffey Street
San Pedro, CA 90731
310-519-0936
http://www.angelsgateart.org/visiting.html


In October of 2008, she spent a month at the Marin Headlands Center For The Arts. She had been nominated and chosen to recieve a stipend for the month to spend the time creating a body of work that would be shown at the end of the stay. I had the opportunity to visit her studio space and gaze upon all of her amazing creations! Included here are pics of her photo based work and of her salt crystalized plant matter that seems to have become a 3-D ingredient in her newest work. Enjoy!