Melissa Nguyen

Honours

With a keen interest in the translated copy, this body of work speaks to art history and Asian diasporas explored through the work of John Young quoting André Derain, Jonathan Nichols’ colours, Agnes Martin’s forms, and Zhang Kechun’s photographs. I endeavour to unravel the function of appropriation and what is revealed through the copy. The resulting paintings grapple with the conflict between an original and a remake.

My painting process is mainly intuitive, compelling me to question the relationship between autonomy and heteronomy of art as a means of exploring my position as a person of the diaspora.

Social

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Enquiries

melissanguyen1410@gmail.com

Melissa Nguyen, A Scaffolding under Construction, oil and graphite on canvas, 2022.

big orange square painting with grey landscape painted over the top. — Melissa Nguyen, IT'S NOT JUST JOHN YOUNG, oil and pencil on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Panisa Ongwat.

Bright red portait canvas with yellow grid lines in a vertical rectangular shape. The bottom of the canvas has extra strokes of red paint over the background. — Melissa Nguyen, Asianless, oil and pencil on canvas, 2022.

portrait beige painting with thin rectangular grid on top. Faint pink lined grid. — Melissa Nguyen, Flour in the Wind, oil and pencil on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Panisa Ongwat.

Big blue almost square painting with white and grey green rectangular grid drawn on top. — Melissa Nguyen, Prthalian Sea, oil and pencil on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Panisa Ongwat.

small portrait painting on white brick wall. Short green vertical lines repeated in rows to fill whole canvas. — Melissa Nguyen, Boss Bamboo, oil and graphite on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Panisa Ongwat.

Installation view of big blue mostly square painting and smaller landscape scaffolding painting on parallel walls of different booths. — Melissa Nguyen, installation view, oil and graphite on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Lucy Foster.

Installation view of portrait red and small beige painting on wall with big orange with grey landscape painting on the wall behind. The walls are parallel to each other. — Melissa Nguyen, installation view, oil and pencil on canvas, 2022. Documentation by Lucy Foster.

Arthur Nyakuengama

Caeylen Fenelon-Norris

Christy Chudosnik

Devika Bilimoria

Eleanor Newbound

Jackson Mclaren

Mardi Denham-Roberts

Thomas Retallack

Veronica Charmont

We acknowledge and pay respect to the Traditional Owners of the lands upon which our campus is situated, the people of the Boon Wurrung and Woi Wurrung, who have created art, made music and told their stories here for thousands of generations. We also acknowledge and extend our respect to the Traditional Owners of all lands on which our work is viewed, shared and enjoyed, and to all Elders, past, present and emerging.

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