BIOGRAPHY
Kenny Nguyen (b. 1990, Ben Tre Province, Vietnam) creates expansive, dimensional, mixed-media paintings that center on ideas of cultural identity, displacement and integration. Nguyen grew up on a coconut farm in a rural area near the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam. Despite having an established career in fashion design, he decided to join his family when they moved to the United States in 2010.
Acclimating to an American way of life proved uneasy at first, especially with a language barrier that intensified feelings of alienation and isolation. Nguyen turned to art-making as a coping mechanism and as a means to express himself in a more universal language. The transition from design to art was a natural one and in 2015 Nguyen earned a BFA in painting from the University of North Carolina Charlotte, and subsequently established a studio in Charlotte.
Drawing from his experience working with textiles, in particular, silk, a culturally significant material in Vietnam, Nguyen developed a distinctive technique to produce sensual, three-dimensional works that he describes as “deconstructed paintings.”
He begins by tearing swaths of silk fabric into hundreds of strips that he dips in acrylic paint and adheres to raw canvas. Methodically, almost meditatively, he repeats the process—tearing, painting, sanding, sewing, weaving, attaching, layering—until he has a structured but malleable medium, which he shapes into undulating, sculpted forms.
Nguyen’s paintings are often affixed to the wall with pushpins, allowing him the flexibility to rehang or adjust the composition as desired. The works can be stretched flat like a traditional canvas or gently draped, folded and creased into animated structures that unfurl along the wall and pool at the floor. Each installation is unique.
In some ways, Nguyen’s approach of deconstruction and reconstruction is akin to the experience of growing into his identity as Vietnamese American and as an artist. His use of silk, which remains the primary material in his practice, has evolved alongside him. Where he once chose it for its splendor and sense of familiarity, through a rigorous process of transformation, it now holds greater meaning for the artist: “For me, silk has become the connector tying both cultures together.”
In 2024, the solo exhibition Kenny Nguyen: Adaptations was on view at the Mint Museum in Charlotte. In 2025, Nguyen’s work was the subject of the solo show titled Confluence at The Branch Museum of Design, Richmond, Virginia, and Kenny Nguyen: The Divine Eye at Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art at the College of Charleston, South Carolina. His work was also on view in Hoa Tay (Flower Hands) at the Ogden Museum of Southern Art in New Orleans in 2025. The exhibition, which commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, showcased work by leading Southern artists from the Vietnamese diaspora. In 2026, Nguyen’s work is on view in Iris van Herpen: Sculpting the Senses, Brooklyn Museum, New York; and Textile Art Redefined at Saatchi Gallery, London.
In 2016, Nguyen received the Excellence Asia Contemporary Young Artist Award from Sejong Museum of Art, and in 2023, a nomination for the Joan Mitchell Fellowship. In 2024, he was awarded Asian Art in London’s Modern & Contemporary Asian Art Award for a work from his Eruption series. He has been awarded numerous grants, fellowships, and residencies.
Above: Kenny Nguyễn in his Concord Studio by Marcelo Aquino
and Collection of Kenny Nguyen childhood photographs in Vietnam and early years in the U.S
Video by Sam, Burn Orange Film Co.
CURRICULUM VITAE
EDUCATION
2015
BFA in Painting, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
BFA in Fashion Design, National University of Art and Architecture Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2010
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Confluence, The Branch Museum of Design, Richmond, VA
The Divine Eye, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
Mother Tongue, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
Mother / Land, Maya Frodeman Gallery, Jackson Hole, WY
Eruption, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore
Adaptations, Mint Museum, Charlotte NC
Cham: Mapping Identity, Sugarlift Gallery. New York, NY
Home/land, Sugarlift Gallery. New York, NY
Intertwined, Susan O. Ahern Gallery, Thelma Sadoff Center for the Arts, Fond du Lac, WI
Mirrors and Veils, Fitton Center for Creative Arts, Hamilton OH
Kenny Nguyen: Identity, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte NC
Infinite Threads, Olin Fine Art Gallery, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Marks on the skin, Deiglan Gilfelagio Gallery, Akureyri, Iceland
Reconstruction, The Cloyde Snook Gallery, Adam State University, Alamosa, CO
Interwoven, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Kenny Nguyen: The Indescribable Fears, M Gallery, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art Museum, South Korea
Interbeing, Sozo Gallery, Charlotte, NC
Space of Otherness, Allenton Gallery, Durham Art Councils, Durham, NC
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
2018
2016
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
Textile Art Redefined, Saatchi Gallery, London, UK
Earth to Sky, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, Singapore
Winter Group Show, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
Thread Count, The Hole, New York, NY
Untitled Art, Special Project, Miami Beach, FL, December 3 - 7, 2025, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Art Mumbai Art Fair, Mumbai, India, November 13 - 16, 2025, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
25th Anniversary Exhibition, Sundaram Tagore Gallery, New York, NY
Hamptons Fine Art Fair, Southampton, NY, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Hoa Tay (Flower Hands), Ogden Museum of Southern Art, New Orleans, LA
Zona Maco, Mexico City, MX, February 5 - 9, 2025, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Art Palm Beach, West Palm Beach, FL, January 22 - 26, 2025, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Art SG, Singapore, January 16 - 19, 2025, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Art Miami, Miami, FL, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Eastern Exposure: Meaning & Materiality in Contemporary Asian Art, presented by Sotheby’s, London, UK
Nordart, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf Germany
Kiaf SEOUL, Seoul, Korea, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Seattle Art Fair, Seattle, WA, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Tokyo Gendai, Tokyo, Japan, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Expo Chicago, Chicago, IL, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Dallas Art Fair, Dallas, TX, Presented by Sundaram Tagore Gallery
Contemporary Cartographies, Museum of Contemporary Art in Jacksonville, FL
Nordart, Kunstwerk Carlshütte, Büdelsdorf Germany
Băng Qua Nước : Across Land, Across Water, CCACC Art Gallery, MD
Infinite Thread, Sugarlift, NYC, NY
Reconstructing Deconstruction, Brooklyn Collective Gallery, Charlotte NC
Material Hard and Soft, Greater Denton Arts Council, Denton TX
Collective(in)action, Memorial Union Gallery, North Dakota State University, Fargo, ND
Constant/Change: Statements from New Generation of North Carolina Artist, Greenhill Center for North Carolina Arts, Greensboro, NC
Strive: National exhibition highlighting American Immigration and the American Dream, D’Art Center, Norfolk, VA
Artfields, Southeast Artist Competition, Lake City, SC
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Contemporary Art Museum Raleigh, Raleigh, NC
Suspend, The Cloyde Snook Gallery, Adam State University, Alamosa, CO
Peace & Justice, DSU Center Gallery, Delaware State University, Dover, DE
Artfields, Jones-Carter Gallery, Lake City, SC
Roderick MacKillop Memorial Alumni Art Exhibition, Rowe Gallery, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, NC
Vietnamerica, Art Exhibition, Documentary Film Screening and Panel Discussion at Capitol Hill,
Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
‘What makes Life an Art’, Gwanghwamun International Art Festival, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
45th International Art Exhibition, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Betty McCain Gallery, Raleigh, NC. Juror: Michael Rooks
CICA’2016 Artist and Location, Czong Institute for Contemporary Art Museum, Gyeonggi-do, South Korea
Fearless, Old Court House Arts Center, Woodstock, IL
Tallahassee International Exhibition, Florida State University Museum of Fine Art, Tallahassee, FL
Asia Contemporary Young Artist Award Exhibition, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
North Carolina Artist Exhibition, Betty McCain Gallery, Raleigh, NC, Juror: Bradley Sumrall
First LaGrange Southeast Regional Exhibition, LaGrange Art Museum, LaGrange, GA. Juror: Deanna Sirlin
Generations: 40 Hues of Black and White, Orange County Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Ana, CA
Curators: Dinh Q. Le, Stephen Anderson
2026
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
SELECTED AWARDS, GRANTS, & RESIDENCIES
Distinguished Alumni Award, College of Arts + Architecture, UNC Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Asian Art in London’s Modern & Contemporary Asian Art Award, presented by Sotheby’s, London, UK
Joan Mitchell Fellowship (Nominated)
AIR Guiniguada, Gran Canaria Island, Spain
Judy Sigunick Fellowship for Visual Artist in Residency, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest, IL
Gilfélag Artist Residency, Akureyri, Iceland
The Denis Diderot [A-i-R] Grant, Château d’Orquevaux, Orquevaux, France
Regional Artist Project Grant, Charlotte Arts and Science Council, Charlotte, NC
Artist Residency Fellowship, Vermont Studio Center, Johnson, VT
Visual Artist Residency Fellowship, Hambidge Center for Creative Art and Science, Rabun Gap, GA
Merit-based Artist Residency Fellowship and Work-exchange Award, VSC, Johnson, VT
Charlotte Visual Artist Grant, HappeningsCLT, Charlotte, NC
Asia Contemporary Young Artist Excellence Award, Sejong Museum of Art, Seoul, South Korea
2025
2024
2023
2022
2020
2019
2018
2017
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS
The Branch Museum of Design, Richmond, VA
The University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, Austin, TX
North Dakota Museum of Art, Grand Forks, ND
TALK & LECTURE
Artist Lecture, ‘Reweaving the Unseen, the Divine Eye and Diasporic Memory’ Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
Artist Talk, ‘Adaptations’ Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC
Artist Talk, Meet the Maker, Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art, Charleston, SC
Artist Talk ‘Contemporary Cartographies’ Museum of Contemporary Art Jacksonville, FL
‘Crossing Boundaries’ Lecture, Akureyri Museum of Art, Akureyri, Iceland
Visiting Artist, Utah Valley University, Orem, UT
Visiting Artist, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
Visiting Artist, Adams State University, Alamosa, CO
Artist Talk, POV Artist Program, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest IL
Artist Lecture ‘Materials in Contemporary Art’, Akureyri Art Museum, Akureyri, Iceland
Visiting Artist, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, NC
Artist Lecture ’Silk: A metaphor of Identity’, Elder Gallery for Contemporary Art, Charlotte NC
Artist’s talk ‘Stimulus: Creation in Threads’, McColl Center for Art and Innovation, Charlotte, NC
2025
2024
2023
2022
2021
2020
2019
JUROR
Curatorial Board, Ragdale Foundation, Lake Forest IL
Juror, Ohio Art Council for Visual Artist Individual Excellence Award, OH
Juror, Hambidge Center, Visual Artist Residency Application, Rabun Gap, GA
2021-24
2022
2019
SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHIES
Mothes, Kate. “Thousands of Strips of Silk Undulate in Kenny Nguyen’s ‘Deconstructed Paintings.’” Colossal, 23 Apr. 2026,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/04/kenny-nguyen-silk-textiles-paintings.
Mothes, Kate. “15 Artists Explore the Potentiality of Fabric and Fiber in ‘Textile Art Redefined.’” Colossal, 16 Apr. 2026,
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2026/04/textile-art-redefined-exhibition/.
Mothes, Kate. “A Vibrant Group Exhibition, ‘Thread Count’ Celebrates the Legacy of Anni Albers.” Colossal, 15 Dec. 2025, https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2025/12/thread-count-textiles-fiber-art-group-exhibition/
Lacombe, Gabriella. "A Mirror In-Between." Style Weekly, 07 Sept. 2025,
https://www.styleweekly.com/a-mirror-in-between/.
Adams, Helen. "Textile Fine Art Conversations with Artists Creating by Hand." Laurence King, 2025.
Eisenschink, Christoph. "Stop Over Charlotte: 'I Have Enough Space Here to Be Creative.'" Lufthansa, 29 Aug. 2025,
https://www.lufthansa.com/id/en/articles/explore-the-world/stop-over-charlotte.
Brown, Virginia. "How a Charlotte fiber artist entwines his Vietnamese heritage with his artwork." The Charlotte
Observer Online, 24 Aug. 2025, https://www.charlotteobserver.com/charlottefive/c5-people/article311502180.html.
The Halsey Institute of Contemporary Art. "Kenny Nguyen: The Divine Eye." Hyperallergic, 22 Aug. 2025,
https://hyperallergic.com/1035821/kenny-nguyen-the-divine-eye/.
Genis, Leia. "‘Hoa Tay (Flower Hands)’ Searches for Cultural Assimilation in New Orleans." Observer, 17
July. 2025, https://observer.com/2025/07/review-hoa-tay-flower-hands-at-the-ogden-museum-of-southern-art/.
Ojha, Srishti. "In a New York solo, diaspora artist Kenny Nguyen makes colour his language." STIRworld, 29 May.
Zhang, Lisa Yin. "Kenny Nguyen's Beautiful Refusal." Hyperallergic, 20 May. 2025,
https://hyperallergic.com/1014287/kenny-nguyen-mother-tongue-sundaram-tagore-allery/.
Fiber Art Now. "Fiber Art Now – Winter 2025." Fiber Art Now, vol. 14, pp. 72-79.
2026
2025
Ho, Louis. "10 must-see exhibitions at Singapore Gallery Month 2024, according to an art curator." Tatler, 6 Sept.
2024, https://www.tatlerasia.com/lifestyle/arts/10-must-see-exhibitions-at-singapore-gallery-month-2024.
Pingel, Maile. "Unfurling Charlotte Artist Kenny Nguyen’s Complex Silk Paintings." Luxe Interiors + Design, 4 Sept. 2024,
https://luxesource.com/article/artist-kenny-nguyen-charlotte.
Roberts, Liza, et al. “Kenny Nguyen.” Art of the State: Celebrating the Visual Art of North Carolina, The
University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, NC, 2022, pp. 88–89.
Logan, Liz. “The Silk Road - Kenny Nguyen’s art is an epic tale sculpted with silk”. Queen City Nerve, 7 Sep. 2021, pp 8-9.
Truc, Doan. “Kenny Nguyen – Dreams of a butterfly.” Elle Decoration Vietnam, 16 May. 2020, pp. 24-27.
Pressler, Alyssa, and Daremen J. “Artist Kenny Nguyen and ‘a Beautiful Way to Communicate'.” The
Charlotte Observer Online, 23 Jan. https://www.charlotteobserver.com/latest-news/article224978845.html
Im, Seonyoung, and Seungsub Baik . “Kenny Nguyen, The Indescribable Fears.” CICA Art Now 2018,
edited by Hyunjin Bang, CICA Press, 2018, pp. 112–120.
2024
2022
2021
2020
2018
2019