As Long as the Earth Endures is an exhibition of new paintings by Nancy Nguyen that explores connections between the act of painting and her study of the Śūraṅgama Sūtra, a Buddhist text. Central to her practice is the concept of Tathāgata-garbha—which translates to “the womb of the Thus-Come One”—a state where things are unborn yet about to happen. For the artist, painting allows her to briefly access such moments of potential.

At the same time, Nguyen experiences painting as a deeply embodied and physical act, where each brushstroke both gives in to and resists the pull of attachment. She is interested in this core tension: painting as both a spiritual practice of non-attachment and a human impulse to inscribe, preserve, and connect.

Nguyen relates this dynamic to saṃsāra, the Buddhist cycle of becoming, a constant motion shaped by clinging, release, and change that echoes ecological patterns. Referencing this ever-perpetuating cycle, a large, rotating painting sits at the center of the room. This moving painting, together with the long, horizontal paintings along the walls, encourages viewers to circulate within the gallery, inviting them into continuous motion.

/ (Slash)