Kenny Nguyen’s “deconstructed paintings” have been featured in galleries all over the world. But if it weren’t for a mistake early on in his career, he might not have become one of Charlotte’s top artists.
Nguyen, who moved to the U.S. with his family from Vietnam in 2010, had recently graduated from UNC Charlotte with a fine arts degree when he arrived at the Vermont Studio Center for a residency, without his paint.
“I forgot it at home,” he says. “The only (supplies) I brought with me were a piece of canvas and a piece of silk, and I used leftover paint I found in the studio.” Instead of panicking, though, he says that his lack of materials forced him to focus on what he could do with what he had.
“Sometimes less is really more,” he says. “I got pushed into a constraint of materials and time.”
Despite the limited options to work with, his first deconstructed painting began to take shape.
Nguyen starts by meticulously cutting white silk into thin, long strips, trimming any stray fringe to ensure each piece is uniform.
“Silk reminds me so much of my homeland and also has such a rich culture,” he says. “I have been working with it for a long time as a fashion designer, and I see myself almost through this material.”
From there, he lays a plastic sheet on the ground, pouring different paints on top. The raw silk gets soaked in the paint, and then, while it’s wet, he places it on a canvas. It takes thousands of strips of silk to make each piece.
“When the silk dries, it turns into something beautiful, like marbling, and creates a lot of texture,” Nguyen says.
He also didn’t have stretcher bars with him at his residency, so after Nguyen finished his first piece, he started playing around with sculpting it into different shapes on the wall using push pins.
“It started to look really interesting,” he says. “My works almost appear like woven pieces to people, but my works are a combination of painting, sculpture and textiles. They’re in the space of transformation between all the different forms.”
The result is a mesmerizing three-dimensional piece of art. Each piece of silk, often multi-colored, creates movement and patterns.
Nguyen landed his first solo exhibition at Sozo Gallery in Charlotte, but his work quickly went global. Nguyen’s art has been shown in galleries in London, Paris, Singapore, New York and beyond, and he already has two solo exhibitions planned for 2027.
Despite so much international success, though, he has stayed firmly rooted in Charlotte.
A few years ago, Nguyen moved from making art in his garage to his studio in Concord. While he originally aspired to move to a larger city, he says being close to family is important to him. He says Charlotte feels “very peaceful” while his work can be chaotic. Living in Charlotte gives him enough space to fully concentrate on his art.
Nguyen’s pieces take anywhere from a few weeks to a few months to make, depending on the size. He works on multiple pieces at once, placing silk strips on one while another canvas dries, and sculpting other paintings after they’re dry.
Just as he did during his residency, Nguyen sculpts the silk directly on the wall using push pins, creating folds, undulations and movement. Installing each work is an art form in itself. While he’s working, Nguyen creates a detailed installation video of how he sculpts the piece and personally oversees and approves every installation, often joining the installer, gallery or collector via FaceTime.
“Each installation responds to the architecture of the space, so no two installations are exactly alike,” he says. “Rather than reproducing a fixed form, the work is realized differently in each environment while remaining unmistakably mine, and is intended to invite viewers to experience the work from multiple perspectives.”
Nguyen’s studio isn’t open to the public, but once a year, he holds an event for people to view his art.
"Silk reminds me so much of my homeland and also has such a rich culture."