Quan Nguyen

Publicatie , installatie , Experimenteel , Documentair , Digitaal , Diaspora , Design , Artistiek onderzoek , Archieven

Quân Nguyễn (b. 2002, Huế) is a Vietnamese visual artist and cultural designer based in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.

Growing up in Huế, Quân developed a close attachment to the city through its history, cultural traditions and everyday domestic life, but also through the instability of its surrounding environment. Moving abroad has brought a new distance to these familiar things, changing how he sees and relates to them. His practice explores how memories, cultural beliefs and human relationships are carried across places, and how they shift when situated in new environments.

Living in Rotterdam and being part of its interdisciplinary creative scene has also shaped the way he works. Quân moves between graphic design, installation, printed matter and moving image. Recently, he has been exploring participatory approaches, creating situations where others can take part in shaping the work.

To My Celestial (Installation series, 2024-now)
To My Celestial (Installation series, 2024-now) - To My Celestial is my offering to the afterlife. This multimedia installation reimagines Vietnamese ancestral worship through personal memory and displacement. It proposes how ritual practices can be reformed and redesigned by diasporic experiences. The work takes the form of a speculative altar that reinterprets traditional Vietnamese spirituality through immersive media. This work asks what happens when rituals migrate and must adapt to new contexts. Though personal, the project speaks to many in the diaspora who live between cultures and feel the weight of distance and belonging, and shows that this is my way of making peace with that tension. I believe traditions don't have to remain fixed, they continue to grow and evolve within the societies we now become part of.
To My Celestial (Publication, 2024)
To My Celestial (Publication, 2024) - This publication translates the installation concept into print, presenting a rich collage of visuals surrounding the ancestor veneration practices in Huế, Vietnam.
Remembering Huế (Short film, 2025)
Remembering Huế (Short film, 2026) - Remembering Huế is an experimental short film following the artist's personal journey to reconnect with Huế, his homeland. From a foreign place, Quân builds an altar and projects footages of home onto it, creating a ritual through which return becomes possible through image and memory. As the narrative drifts along the Hương River and the city, Huế appears as a reconstructed landscape of longing, nostalgia, and spiritual attachment.
Đôi Đũa (Initiative, 2025)
Đôi Đũa (Art Initiative, 2025-now) - A collaborative project initiated by Quan and Omar, inspired by the visual cultures of Southeast Asia and the Sinosphere that influence our upbringing. We use the Asian Market as a theme to pay homage to the vibrancy of our culture expressed through motion, print and illustration that use bold colors and playful composition. We aim to open up a platform that encourages exchange across diasporic communities within Rotterdam.
Four Seasons (Artwork, 2023)
Four Seasons (Artwork, 2023) - During summer 2023, I designed four wall artworks for my family’s new home in Vietnam. This series takes inspiration from a traditional Hang Trong painting, incorporating 3D graphics to illustrate the beauty of the four seasons. The four artworks are placed in the common room, following Feng Shui principles believed to bring luck and prosperity to the family. This reinterpretation complements the modern space of the house while staying true to the original narratives of Nguyen Binh Khiem’s poem. The color scheme from the original Hang Trong painting is reflected directly in the metallic graphics.
When in Huế (publication, 2022)
When in Huế (Publication, 2022) - This publication is dedicated to my mom and her relationship with our hometown. It’s made up of four non-linear stories that follow her daily life as she travels through Huế during the summer. Her years of living, studying, and working are woven into the city’s culture, told through a mix of conceptual photoshoots and archival images.

Stimuleringsfonds Talent Development Grant 2026-2027

Datum:
In samenwerking met: Stimuleringsfonds

MOMO Festival 2026

Datum:
Locatie: WORM S/lash gallery
In samenwerking met: Motel Mozaique

Dutch Design Week 2025

Datum:
Locatie: De Fabriek

Back2Breaks - Group Exhibition, curated by 11:11 Collective

Datum:
Locatie: The Grey Space in the Middle

All Access Archive #4 Book Exhibition

Datum:
Locatie: Enter Enter

Ito Collective – Book & Zine Event, Bay Library & 3namstudio

Datum:
Locatie: Multi Multi Cafe

Graduation Show 2024

Datum:
Locatie: Willem de Kooning Academy