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Tuan Andrew Nguyen
The Light That Shines Through the Universe
On the High Line at the Spur, at 30th St. and 10th Ave.
Tuan Andrew Nguyen’s artistic practice is rooted in memory, history, and the enduring impact of conflict and violence, particularly in his native Vietnam. In his sculptures and videos, Nguyen presents marginalized or forgotten narratives, giving voice to those whose experiences have been overlooked. Lacuna, or empty space, is a profound throughline—whether it be empty spaces left in the landscape, in bodies, in memories, or in a culture, due to the destruction that comes from war, colonization, and environmental catastrophe. The resulting work serves as a platform for dialogue and potential repair, examining the spiritual, cultural, and physical residue left by war.
For the fifth High Line Plinth, Tuan Andrew Nguyen presents The Light That Shines Through the Universe, a monument to cultural loss and enduring spirit. This towering, 27-foot sandstone sculpture pays homage to the Bamiyan Buddhas, two 6th-century colossal statues in central Afghanistan that were tragically destroyed by the Taliban in 2001 in an act of iconoclasm. Now a UNESCO World Heritage Site, all that is left are two empty niches carved out of the mountain where the statues once stood. Prior to their destruction, the Bamiyan Buddhas held deep cultural significance in a region that was home to various religions including Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Hinduism, even as Afghanistan shifted primarily to Islam between the 7th and 10th century CE. The two monumental statues represented a blending of cultures and the lasting impact of the Silk Road economy, as the valley served as an influential meeting point in Central Asia, at the intersection of trade routes from China, India, and Persia.
Learn more about the Bamiyan Buddhas on our blog →
The work’s title directly references the affectionate nickname local communities used for the larger Buddha: “Salsal,” which translates to “the light shines through the universe.” Nguyen’s Plinth commission is not an exact replica of Salsal, but rather an echo, intended to invoke the memory of these lost cultural treasures. In this new context, the name poetically underscores how the original statues have transcended their physical destruction to become a steadfast symbol of life, healing, and peace.
Reincarnation is a recurring motif in Nguyen’s work, presented as a spiritual idea and a potent political metaphor. Inherent in the circular pattern of reincarnation is the potential that we all could be interconnected through past or future lives. Through this concept, the artist explores how past injustices persist and manifest in contemporary life, while also offering speculative space to imagine futures for the people, places, or things that were destroyed or forever changed by conflict. By blurring the lines between documentary and fiction, and past and future, Nguyen offers reincarnation as a framework for revisiting history and its many tributaries.
Nguyen’s use of material similarly speaks to themes of loss and reincarnation. In particular, the artist looks to the legacy of the Vietnam War (1955 – 1975) and the continued violence and trauma that impact local communities to this day. Widely considered to be the largest aerial bombardment in human history, the Vietnam War left the country littered with literal ticking time bombs, unexploded ordnance (UXO)—bombs, grenades, and artillery shells that failed to detonate. Nguyen takes these symbols of violence, laden with history, melts them down, and reshapes them into expressions of healing, resilience, and hope. For The Light That Shines Through the Universe, the artist continues this form of alchemy by reimagining the Buddhas’ hands, lost after centuries of attempted iconoclastic attacks, long before the statues were fully destroyed. Cast from melted-down brass artillery shells and positioned into mudras, or ritual gestures that signify “fearlessness” and “compassion,” the gleaming hands become symbols of healing and empathy. This prosthetic-like addition also calls to mind limb loss and the continued humanitarian crisis enacted by lingering landmines and UXO in Vietnam. By leaving a noticeable gap between the prosthetics and the body, Nguyen poetically suggests that while some damage may be irreparable, there is still hope and potential to heal the land, the spirit, and the people that have experienced tremendous destruction.
The Light That Shines Through the Universe addresses the necessity of remembrance and art as counterforces to political extremism and nihilism. Nguyen proposes a potent critique of iconoclasm and the erasure of diverse cultural identities as a weapon of war and political control. Today, as we continue to grapple with a push towards polarizing communities and the suppression of dissenting histories, The Light That Shines Through the Universe is particularly poignant. Towering over 10th Avenue, this resurrected and reimagined figure serves as a powerful reminder that memory and our shared humanity are the best antidote against those who seek to break and scatter the human spirit.
Explore our monthly lecture and guided meditation series
As part of the public programming for The Light That Shines Through the Universe, the High Line presents a monthly lecture and guided meditation series at the Spur. Presented in partnership with the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art, the series invites visitors to engage more deeply with themes central to Nguyen’s work. Each session features a lecture by a scholar, artist, or cultural leader, followed by a guided meditation led by an invited practitioner.
Artist bio
Tuan Andrew Nguyen (b. 1976, Saigon, Vietnam) lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Nguyen has had major solo presentations at the New Museum, New York, NY (2023); Fondació Joan Miró, Barcelona, Spain (2024); Zeitz MOCAA, Cape Town, South Africa (2024); Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington D.C. (2024); and the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL (2025). The artist’s videos and films have been included in major international festivals, biennials, and exhibitions including 36th Bienal de São Paulo (2025); Prospect.6, New Orleans, LA (2024); the 12th Berlin Biennale, Berlin, Germany (2022); Manifesta 14, Prishtina, Kosovo (2022); Aichi Triennale, Aichi Prefecture, Japan (2022); Biennale de Dakar, Dakar, Senegal (2022); Asian Art Biennial, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, Tapei, Taiwan (2021); Manifesta 13, Marseille, France (2020); Sharjah Architecture Triennial, Sharjah, UAE (2019); SOFT POWER, SFMoMA, San Francisco, CA (2019); the 2019 Sharjah Biennial, Sharjah, UAE (2019); 2017 Whitney Biennial, New York, NY (2017); the 55th International Short Film Festival, Oberhausen, Germany (2009); 8th NHK Asian Film Festival, Tokyo, Japan (2007); 18th Singapore International Film Festival (2005) and 4th Bangkok Experimental Film Festival, Bangkok, Thailand (2005). Nguyen has received numerous awards, including the 2023 Joan Miró Prize, 2025 Trellis Art Fund Milestone Grant, and 2025 MacArthur Fellowship. Nguyen is set to unveil two major commissions in late October 2025: Temple, at National Gallery Singapore as part of the 2025 Singapore Biennale, and Naga, at Princeton University Art Museum during the unveiling of the museum’s new building.
His work is included in the permanent collections of institutions including the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; Brooklyn Museum, Brooklyn, NY; Carré d’Art – Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes, France; Centre national des arts plastiques (CNAP), Paris, France; Dallas Museum of Art, Dallas, TX; Des Moines Art Center, Des Moines, IA; Guggenheim Abu Dhabi, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates; Honolulu Museum of Art, Honolulu, HI; Kadist Art Foundation, San Francisco, CA; Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, TX; Museum MACAN, Jakarta, Indonesia; Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, Kansas City, MO; Nevada Museum of Art, Reno, NV; Phoenix Art Museum, Phoenix, AZ; Philadelphia Museum of Art, Philadelphia, PA; Princeton University Art Museum, Princeton, NJ; Queensland Art Gallery | Gallery of Modern Art (QAGOMA), Brisbane, Australia; Singapore Art Museum, Singapore; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, San Francisco, CA; Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, NY; Taguchi Art Collection, Japan; The Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, NY, and the Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, MA.
Represented by James Cohan Gallery
Support
Lead support for High Line Art comes from Amanda and Don Mullen. Major support is provided by Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, The Brown Foundation, Inc. of Houston, and Charina Endowment Fund.
Major support for the High Line Plinth is provided by members of the High Line Plinth Committee, contemporary art leaders who are committed to realizing major commissions and engaging in the public success of the Plinth: Shelley Fox Aarons and Philip E. Aarons, Amy Abrams, Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros, Sarah Arison, Elizabeth K. Belfer, Fairfax Dorn, Kerianne Flynn, Ingrid Cincala Gilbert, Hermine Riegerl Heller, Janine and J. Tomilson Hill, Annie Hubbard, Miyoung Lee and Neil Simpkins, Randi Levine, Jennifer Levitt, Amanda and Don Mullen, Douglas Oliver and Sherry Brous, Mario Palumbo and Stefan Gargiulo, Dani R’bibo, Eric Schwartz and Debra Fram, Susan and David Viniar, Olivia Walton, and Vivian and James Zelter.
Major support of High Line Art’s digital infrastructure is provided by Bloomberg Philanthropies.
High Line Art is supported, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Kathy Hochul and the New York State Legislature, and the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the New York City Council, under the leadership of Speaker Adrienne Adams.
Sobre esta obra
Para el quinto encargo del High Line Plinto, Tuan Andrew Nguyen presenta La luz que brilla a través del universo. Esta imponente escultura de arenisca de 7,62 metros rinde homenaje a los Budas de Bamiyán, dos estatuas colosales del siglo VI situadas en el centro de Afganistán, que fueron trágicamente destruidas por los talibanes en 2001 en un acto de iconoclasia. El título de la obra hace referencia directa al apodo cariñoso que las personas locales le daban al Buda más grande: “Salsal”, que se traduce como “la luz que brilla a través del universo”. La obra de Nguyen para el Plinto no es una réplica exacta de Salsal, sino más bien un eco, destinado a evocar el recuerdo de estos tesoros culturales perdidos.
La reencarnación es un motivo recurrente en la obra de Nguyen, presentada como una idea espiritual y una potente metáfora política. El artista explora cómo las injusticias del pasado persisten y se manifiestan en la vida contemporánea, a la vez que ofrece un espacio especulativo para imaginar futuros para las personas, los lugares o las cosas que fueron destruidas o cambiadas para siempre por el conflicto. Su uso de los materiales también aborda estos temas; en particular, el artista se fija en el legado de la Guerra de Vietnam (1955 – 1975) y en la violencia y el trauma continuo que afecta a las comunidades locales hasta el día de hoy. Ampliamente considerada como el mayor bombardeo aéreo de la historia de la humanidad, la Guerra de Vietnam dejó al país plagado de municiones sin detonar (UXO): bombas, granadas y proyectiles de artillería que no llegaron a explotar. Nguyen toma estos objetos de violencia, los funde y les da una nueva forma para convertirlos en expresiones de sanación, resiliencia y esperanza. Para La luz que brilla a través del universo, el artista continúa con esta forma de alquimia reimaginando las manos de Buda. Fundidas a partir de proyectiles de artillería de latón derretido y colocadas en mudras, o gestos rituales que significan “ausencia de miedo” y “compasión”, las manos relucientes se convierten en símbolos de sanación y empatía.
La luz que brilla a través del universo aborda la necesidad de la memoria y el arte como fuerzas contrarias al extremismo político y al nihilismo. Nguyen propone una potente crítica al borrado de identidades culturales diversas como arma de guerra y control político. Hoy en día, mientras seguimos lidiando con un impulso hacia la polarización de las comunidades y la supresión de historias disidentes, esta obra resulta particularmente conmovedora.
Tuan Andrew Nguyen (n. 1976, Saigón, Vietnam) vive y trabaja en Ciudad Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam. Nguyen ha realizado importantes exposiciones individuales en el Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois (2025); el Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, DC (2024); el Zeitz MOCAA, Ciudad del Cabo, Sudáfrica (2024); la Fundación Joan Miró, Barcelona, España (2024); y el New Museum, Nueva York, Nueva York (2023). Su obra ha sido incluida en importantes exposiciones internacionales recientes, entre ellas la 61.ª Bienal de Venecia, Venecia, Italia (2026); la Bienal de Singapur 2025, Singapur (2025); la 36.ª Bienal de São Paulo (2025); Prospect.6, Nueva Orleans, Luisiana (2024); la 12.ª Bienal de Berlín, Berlín, Alemania (2022); y Manifesta 14, Pristina, Kosovo (2022); entre muchas otras. Nguyen ha recibido numerosos premios, entre ellos la Beca MacArthur 2025.
关于这件作品
Tuan Andrew Nguyen为第五届高线公园基座艺术项目（High Line Plinth）呈献了作品《照彻宇宙之光》。这件高达25英尺的砂岩雕塑致敬了巴米扬大佛——两尊建于6世纪、位于阿富汗中部的巨型佛像，于2001年被塔利班在一次神像破坏行动中摧毁。作品标题直接引用了当地人对较大佛像的昵称“Salsal”，意为“照彻宇宙之光”。Nguyen的这一委任创作并非对Salsal的精确复刻，而是一种回响，旨在唤起对这些失落文化瑰宝的记忆。
转世是Nguyen作品中反复出现的主题，既是一种精神观念，也是一种强有力的政治隐喻。他探讨过去的不公如何延续并在当代生活中显现，同时也为那些在冲突中被毁灭或被永久改变的人、地点与事物，提供了一个可以想象其未来的空间。他对材料的运用同样回应着这些主题；艺术家尤为关注越南战争（1955 – 1975）的遗产，以及至今仍在影响当地社区的持续暴力与创伤。越南战争被广泛认为是人类历史上规模最大的空中轰炸之一。战争过后，大量未爆弹（UXO）散落各地，包括未引爆的炸弹、手榴弹和炮弹。Nguyen将这些暴力物件熔化重铸，转化为关于疗愈、韧性与希望的表达。在《照彻宇宙之光》中，艺术家延续这一炼金术般的转化方式，重新构想佛像的双手。这些闪耀的双手由熔化后的黄铜炮弹铸成，被塑造成手印，即象征“无畏”与“慈悲”的仪式性手势，由此成为疗愈与共情的象征。
《照彻宇宙之光》强调了记忆的必要性，并将艺术视为对抗政治极端主义与虚无主义的力量。Nguyen对将抹除多元文化身份作为战争与政治控制武器的做法提出了强有力的批判。时至今日，当我们仍需持续面对日益加剧的社会两级分化与历史异议遭受噤声，这件作品显得尤为意义深远。
Tuan Andrew Nguyen（生于1976年，越南西贡）现生活并工作于越南胡志明市。他曾在芝加哥艺术学院（2025）、史密森尼美国艺术博物馆（2024）、开普敦Zeitz MOCAA当代非洲艺术博物馆（2024）、巴塞罗那胡安·米罗基金会（2024）和纽约新美术馆（2023）举办重要个展。其作品参加了多项重要国际展览，包括第61届威尼斯双年展（2026，意大利）、新加坡双年展（2025）、第36届圣保罗双年展（2025）、Prospect.6（2024，路易斯安那州新奥尔良）、第12届柏林双年展（2022，德国），以及Manifesta 14（2022，科索沃普里什蒂纳）等。Nguyen曾获众多奖项，包括2025年麦克阿瑟天才奖。