I find Cuong Nguyen’s portraits simply awe inspiring so it must be obvious what a delight it was for me to meet him in person at his opening reception for his show Aspects at the Triton Museum of Art!  This artist is so genuinely warm and friendly it was easy to see how he must put his subjects immediately at ease and be granted access to peer into their souls!

His muses milled about the guests and it was fun to spotting these models walking around the show: a distinctive pair of glasses, a pair of gorgeous eyes, a striking profile, these intimate details seemed familiar in real life after admiring them on the monumental scale that Cuong paints.

Preston Metcalf,  the Triton’s chief curator related to me a bit of the artist’s roots in Viet Nam where he began to paint as a boy of 10 and was tutored in the techniques of Russian Realism. He began his formal training at the Academy of Art in Saigon and continued at San Jose State studying Graphic Design and Illustration.  Cuong Nguyen has recently swept up all kinds of accolades including  Best in Show at the International Association of Pastel Societies’ 15th Juried Exhibition, Grand Prize of the Pastel Journal Magazine Competition 2010 and winning First Place at the Triton’s 2011 Statewide Painting Competition and Exhibition. Needless to say, Cuong has his hands full with commissions!

Aspects: Multiple Face, Multiple Views will be on exhibit at the Triton Museum of Art located on 1501 Warburton Avenue in San Jose, California until  November 11, 2012.

For more information check out www.tritonmuseum.org and the artist’s website www.icuong.com.

It was a real pleasure meeting artist Cuong Nguyen at his reception for Aspects at the Triton! We’re standing in front of Him oil on canvas 48″ x 60″ (my favorite piece).

Cuong Nguyen Portraits of Hope Triptych oil on canvas in Aspects.

Cuong Nguyen with Resolve oil on canvas 40″ x 40″ and his muse.

Cuong Nguyen and his many muses (including the amazing artist Jaya King).

Cuong Nguyen Portrait of Blue and Portrait of Green triptychs oil on canvas.

Cuong Nguyen Up (Portraits of Green) oil on canvas 40″ x 40″.
I love this piece and understand that it was sold before the exhibition was fully installed. I adore tattoos in paintings and have one in the works myself (a painting with a tattoo, that is, not a real one).

This photograph of a girl viewing Cuong Nguyen’s Her oil on canvas 48″ x 60″ shows what it’s like to be face to face with one of these stunning paintings.