Nguyen Khai (Khai Buu) was born in Hue, Vietnam in 1940. He graduated from the National School of Fine Arts in 1963. He is one of the founders of the prestigious Association of Young Vietnamese Artists and won the Bronze Medal at a Spring Art Exhibition in Saigon even before his graduation. In 1981, Nguyen Khai and his family resettled in California where he was able to re-gain his artistic freedom.
Nguyen Khai is known for his creativity, imagery and strong use of color. He delves deep into his cultural past and new western experience for inspiration. His oil paintings evoke romantic interludes, nostalgic yearnings and sensuous beauty. Khai’s talent extends to include non-traditional art such as abstract, mixed media and stone carvings.
EXHIBITIONS:
1963: Catinat Gallery, Saigon, Vietnam.
1964: The Tunis Biennial.
1965: The Paris Biennial, France.
1966: The Tokyo Biennial, Japan
1967: The Sao Paulo Biennial, , Brazil.
1968: The New Delhi Biennial, India.
1969: The Sao Paulo Biennial, , Brazil.
1981: Garden Grove Mills House Gallery, Garden Grove, CA, USA.
1982: UC Irvine Art Gallery, Irvine, CA, USA.
1983 – 1984: Kasden’s Gallery, Torrance, CA, USA.
1985: OCC Art Gallery, Costa Mesa, CA, USA.
1987: UCLA Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
1989 – 1990: Studio Art Gallery, Burbank, CA,USA.
1991 – 1992: Century Art Gallery, Westminster, CA, USA.
1992: “East and West”, Wignall Museum Gallery, CA, USA.
1993: Cypress College Fine Arts Gallery
1994: “Mankind & Computer”, Vietworld Magazine, Westminster, CA, USA.
1995: Ryal Gallery, Boca Raton, FL; Tustin Renaissance Gallery, Tustin, CA.
Smithsonian Institute Traveling Exhibition, Washington, DC;
Touring 7 Museum 1995-1998.
1996: San Jose Museum, CA;
Robert Hull Fleming Museum, Burlington, VT;
Laguna Museum, Laguna Beach, CA;
Pensacola Museum of Art, Pensacola, FL;
“An Ocean Apart”, Virginia Polytechnic Institute, Blacksburg, VA;
Pacific Asian Museum, Pasadena, CA, USA.
1997: “Salt & Pepper”, Institute of Contemporary Art Gallery, San Jose, CA;
“20 Years of Vietnamese Art in America”, Michigan Union;
Tustin Renaissance Gallery, Tustin, CA, USA.
1998: Cuttress Gallery, Pomona, CA, USA.
1999: LA Artcore, CA, USA.
2000: LA Artcore, CA; Tustin Renaissance Gallery, Tustin, CA, USA.
2001: Old Courthouse Museum, CA, USA.
2002: Vinh Loi Gallery, Saigon, Vietnam
2003: “40 Years of Artistry”, Vien Dong Gallery, Westminster, CA, USA.
2004: Hoa Mai Gallery, Paris, France.
2005: Viet Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
2006: Viet Bao Kinh Te Gallery, Garden Grove, California, USA.
2007: Palette Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
2012: Viet Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
2015: Viet Bao Gallery, Westminster, California, USA.
2016: Palette Art Gallery, Houston, Texas, USA.
“Nguyen Khai’s new non-objective paintings, which depart from his earlier figurative works, were the primary focus of a recent solo exhibition at L.A. Artcore. A distinguished figure in Los Angeles’ international artworld firmament, Khai’s non-objective images are filled with the sophistication and confidence one would expect of a seasoned artist of his distinction.
Sophisticated and complex, Khai’s works converse with an array of visual phenomena ranging from ancient Asian court art, with its perfected symbols of suns, moons, and the seasons, to contemporary images of machine gears, computer parts, and time clocks.
Heralding the coming of a new millennium, these works reconsider the socio-cultural values of late twentieth century life, revering the wisdom of the past while striding within the technological milieu of the present.”
