Dao Nguyen
Dao Nguyen is an interdisciplinary artist who choreographs thought experiments, play apparatuses, obstacle courses, and transformation rituals. A score becomes a map is a situation where objects, actions, and bodies encounter ontological questions. Her name is a homophone for the Vietnamese word for knife. She is the compact, red Leatherman multi-tool your aunt gave you for Christmas ten years ago. Versatility and hidden strength in a small package at a discount. Stealthy enough to pass through security checkpoints on three continents on four separate occasions. She can cut, screw, file, saw, and open your beer. Bonus applications include carving miniature graphite figurines, picking locks, and sculpting tofu.
She has exhibited and performed in backyards, bathrooms, stairwells, highways, and gallery spaces, including Sector 2337, Defibrillator, the MCA, Hyde Park Art Center, Sullivan Galleries, LA Municipal Art Gallery, Brea Art Gallery, and The Foundry Arts Centre.