Tai Nguyen ’23 Presents Portraits of a Living Past at Heritage Museum of Orange County
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Tai Nguyen in front of his artwork at the Heritage Museum.
UCI Arts alum explores the past and future of local environments in a new exhibition
By Ayiana Grana
Tai Nguyen ’23, will present Portraits of a Living Past, a solo exhibition at the Heritage Museum of Orange County in Santa Ana. The exhibit will be on display Oct. 18, 11 a.m.- 3 p.m. Nguyen’s work will feature original drawings and paintings that explore the local environment and its future.
This exhibit continues Nguyen’s tradition of exploring the natural world and humanity’s relationship with it. Growing up surrounded by nature in Vietnam’s countryside, Nguyen immigrated to the United States at age 12. As he would return to his hometown years later, Nguyen noticed environmental changes brought by gentrification. What he witnessed inspired him to use his art to explore the ways human actions can threaten ecosystems.
"I love how the details almost pull me into the artwork and make me want to keep looking," shared Nguyen.
Nguyen graduated from UC Irvine Claire Trevor School of the Arts in studio art. As an undergraduate, he created paintings and sculptures that interrogated humanity’s connection with nature. His work depicts various futures, such as realities of mass extinction or a world where animals reign free in the absence of humans. The artist aims to tell stories through his work that inspire viewers to consider human impact on the environment. Apart from the Heritage Museum of Orange County, his work has also been shown at UCI Catalyst Gallery and the Laguna Festival Art Show.
For the Portraits of a Living Past exhibit, Nguyen unearths Santa Ana’s wetland. He uses materials from the historical space to capture its essence. His work pushes the boundaries of different art forms in order to create his imagined environments. His purpose perfectly aligns with Heritage Museum of Orange County’s mission to preserve and revitalize the area’s history.
Portraits of a Living Past will be shown at the Quilter’s Cottage at Heritage Museum of Orange County. For more information, visit here.
