Regardless of the palette Nguyen uses, his work is always spiritual, and devoted to nature, as he himself has been since he was a child. “That is always in my mind from a young age. I had respect for trees, rocks, plants. It’s not religious, it’s spiritual in respect to everything surrounding me—after all, they’ve all been there longer than me.”

Opening on Jan. 10 and on display through March 5, “Vietnamese-American Stories” is one of a series of Casa Connections events for the season. The programming will feature a curated exhibit of the work of Vietnamese American artist Hùng Viet Nguyen, with vivid landscape paintings inspired by traditional techniques, like woodblock print and Oriental scroll painting.

"..."Some of the influences I only realized and found out after the artwork had been completed for awhile," he explains. "They were happening unconsciously." He has also looked to his Asian roots for inspiration, studying traditions as diverse as Chinese scroll paintings, Japanese woodblock prints and ceramic decoration...” – Meher McArthur, Asian Art Historian (2013)

Hung does not refer to texture. Instead, he builds actual texture with thick layers of oil paint that are deeply furrowed with diverse brushstrokes. Sometimes it almost looks like he has combed the paint. His surfaces are “stitched” with cuts and grooves that weave through and animate it. Viewers may want to touch Hung’s canvases: His textures are irresistibly inviting.

...It’s hard not to think of Van Gogh and such pictures as his “Starry Night,” and although Van Gogh is one of Nguyen’s other influences, along with Gustav Klimt, Joan Miró, and Pablo Picasso, an influence just as powerful are the beautiful and calming Zen rock gardens. When carefully raked, they resemble moving water... - Bondo Wyszpolski, Arts and Entertainment Editor at the Easy Reader.

About his current exhibit, PLACES, Hung remarks, “While traveling I photographed favorite moments, places and scenes. From these images, I created works with ink and watercolor, applied two varieties of varnish for aging and crackling for a classic look. By capturing a cell phone image in a few seconds and then spending many hours to produce an artwork, I uncovered the relationship between the places and myself.”

Nguyen notes that his style of painting is similar to classic Oriental scroll painting. “The painter paints the places he or she has been traveling through, not one fixed location. I came up with the name “Sacred Landscape” for each of my series because I think nature is sacred, and the act of painting is sacred, too.”

Q. What role does the artist have in society?
A. An artist is as a monk, focusing on the spiritual journey, lives a simple life, consumes less and leaves
something beautiful for others.
Q. What’s your best childhood memory?
A. Hanging around with bad kids, skipping classes, wandering areas, and smoking cigarettes. I was 11 years old.

Besides the composition, colors, expression,... there is another factor which is very important to me: The relationship between material (oil paint) and myself. I can’t explain clearly, but that the process to be harmony: material has its own soul, I must respect it. I never think I can totally control the medium. What I want viewers taking from my work? Having feelings first, then everything else will come later!