Michelle Nguyen: Anatomical Venus’ at Bau-Xi Gallery, Toronto

Toronto: Bau-Xi Gallery is currently hosting a solo exhibition by Michelle Nguyen, titled “Anatomical Venus”.

Marking the debut of the artist’s latest works, the exhibition explores how women occupy both physical and theoretical spaces, as both artist and subject throughout art history, and how we ascribe them power, or the lack thereof. The memento mori figurine, Anatomical Venus (created by Clemente Susini in 1780) is Nguyen’s inspiration for this exhibition, which draws on art historical role of the female form as a projection of desire and power. The idea that this figure is at once alien and familiar, science and art, life and death, fascinates Nguyen and encourages her to continue to explore the themes of the women-art-power triad in her paintings. Nguyen is known for her dark, whimsical paintings that explore the adventures of eccentric, fictionalized bodies and the spaces they occupy. Made primarily in oils, Nguyen’s canvases are populated by humorous, caricatured, and even grotesque figures who explore strange social environments that appear to be part dream, part nightmare. The artist uses oil pastel, loose gestural markings and ambient colors to illustrate worlds dense with mythology, symbolism, and narrative. Born in Toronto, Nguyen currently lives and works in Vancouver. She studied Environmental Design and received her undergraduate degree from the University of British Columbia in 2016.

The exhibition will be on view through April 10, 2018, at Bau-Xi Photo, 350 Dundas St West, Toronto, Canada.

For details visit: http://www.blouinartinfo.com/galleryguide/ bau-xi/overview