Of Warm Impermanence
Ty Nathan Clark & Vy Ngo
May 26–July 22, 2023
ABOUT
THE EXHIBIT
Of Warm Impermanence” is an introspective journey of two visual artists and longtime friends, Vy Ngo and Ty Nathan Clark, who despite their different backgrounds, have found synchronicity in their creative process and how memories, music, poetry, and human connections inform their work. Through paintings, sculpture, and installation work, Ty and Vy delve into their personal experiences and narratives, using abstraction to express their emotions and reflections on complex and universal themes of trauma, heartache, healing, and triumph.
Both artists use many layers of various mediums, vibrant colors, and organic shapes to create pieces that are highly emotive and demonstrate the power of resilience and hope in the face of adversity and deep-seated scars. As a dancer, Vy’s paintings are full of movement, flow, and areas of internal discovery, shifting in and out of the subconscious and consciousness. While Ty energetically constructs and deconstructs his materials, jumps on and around the canvas, physically engaging with his work to find balance and understanding amongst the chaos.
As abstract philosopher poets, “Of Warm Impermanence” is an exhibition for the viewer to connect with themselves, be present, and feel comfort in the understanding that we are all interconnected like ripples in the stream of life, riding the waves of healing, and finding beauty in the suffering and the fleeting nature of time.
The exhibition is curated by Dr. Jane Damron
"I watch the ripples change their size
But never leave the stream
Of warm impermanence
So the days float through my eyes
But still the days seem the same."
-David Bowie,
Changes, Hunky Dory(1971)
ABOUT VY NGO
Vy Ngo, Vietnamese American, b. 1975
Dr.Vy Ngo is an Austin based visual artist, who draws influences from her life as a Vietnamese-American, a physician, a mother, and an activist. Born to refugee parents in rural Pennsylvania, her passion for the arts was overshadowed by cultural expectations, an interest in the sciences, and the desire to serve others. After establishing a career in medicine, Vy finally came back to her creative self and began painting in 2015.
Her prolific and dedicated studio practice has expanded from painting to 3-D sculptural paintings and site-specific installation work, using the various visual languages to best fit the narrative of her exhibitions. Vy Ngo has had several solo exhibitions and group shows in various public art spaces and galleries in Texas and across the country from California to Tennessee. Her work has been acquired by private and public permanent collections, such as Austin City Hall and Texas A&M Multicultural Center and has drawn attention from various publications and media, such as Tribeza, Austin Woman, PBS Arts in Context and listed as one of the “10 Contemporary Artists in Austin to Know” by Culture Trip. Whether it be representational work, abstract paintings, or large-scale installations, Vy Ngo creates work and spaces for dialogue and introspection about identity, culture, political issues, memories, and the human experience.
ABOUT TY NATHAN CLARK
Ty Nathan Clark, American, b. 1974
Ty Nathan Clark has been creating in multiple genres since he was 4 years old. His uncle Conway “Jiggs” Pierson, the world-renowned Sculptor and Raku artist, impacted his passion for the arts at an early age. In 2021 he began the “Ty Nathan Clark Artist Mentorship Program”, a program for established and emerging international artists, made up of 44 alumni from 15 countries around the world. The artist has traveled to 5 continents while living, creating, and learning in over 20 countries and cultures around the world.
Culture Trip named Ty one of ten contemporary artists in Austin to watch in2017 and 2019. In 2019, his Award-Winning film Jump Shot was an official selection for SXSW Film Festival. Ty is currently working on an episodic documentary series and completed his first novel in2020. He has shown work from the Goss-Michael Gallery to the Delaware Contemporary Museum. Besides the influence of his uncle “Jiggs” Ty has studied under American sculptor William Catling and renowned Japanese American abstract painter Makoto Fujimura.
He has spearheaded collaborations with other artists, organizations, and communities around the world for the past two decades, advancing support and dialogue around issues regarding arts, culture, community building and culture care. He lives and creates from his studio in Waco, Texas, with his wife Mande and is currently represented in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Houston, Austin, Las Vegas, and New York.
