large image of a rural landscape with clustered farm buildings in LRQ and LLQ; beige field with large overcast sky; leafless trees on horizon

%C2%A9 Minneapolis Institute of Art

Untitled 14, 2017

expand_more
Not on Viewexpand_more

The son of a glass painter and a poet, the Vietnamese American artist Teo Nguyen lives and works in Minneapolis. His landscapes of the rural upper Midwest capture the vast space, boundless fields, big skies, and chilling isolation distinctive to the region, particularly in winter. He enjoys exploring this novel terrain and sees a mesmerizing beauty often overlooked in the land of his adopted home. “As an immigrant and an artist,” he said, “I have learned to embrace the American spirit of freedom that says if you see a road that interests you, go ahead: venture down it. Even so, I am always a stranger to what I see; always slightly outside, finding in what is ordinary to others something tender and strange.”

Executed in a virtuoso photorealistic technique, this startlingly vivid scene is composed both from memory and the imagination. Nguyen likes to drive deep into the prairie to sketch in his car before beginning one of his large-scale paintings back in the studio. Intensely sensitive to the special qualities of this place—the novel scenery, light, and atmosphere—Nguyen seems uniquely positioned to open the eyes of Minnesotans and their northern brethren to the sublime beauty that surrounds us.

Details
Title
Untitled 14
Artist Life
American (born Vietnam), born 1977
Role
Artist
Accession Number
2018.39.1
Provenance
The artist, Golden Valley, Minn.; [Burnet Fine Art & Advisory, Wayzata, Minn., 2017-18]; sold to MIA, 2018.
Curator Approved

This record is from historic documentation and may not have been reviewed by a curator, so may be inaccurate or incomplete. Our records are frequently revised and enhanced. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@artsmia.org.

Does something look wrong with this image? Let us know

Zoom in on the left to the detail you'd like to save. Click 'Save detail' and wait until the image updates. Right click the image to 'save image as' or copy link, or click the image to open in a new tab.

large image of a rural landscape with clustered farm buildings in LRQ and LLQ; beige field with large overcast sky; leafless trees on horizon

© Minneapolis Institute of Art