Sarasota Art Museum proudly presents Timaeus and the Nations, a solo exhibition by multidisciplinary artist Tammy Nguyen (American, born 1984), unveiling a new body of work that delves into themes of world order, nationhood, and the boundaries of national identity. Nguyen is celebrated for her intricately layered paintings that weave together figurative imagery, lush tropical vegetation, abstract forms, and symbols. Her compositions, with their ornate surfaces and layers of familiar yet subversive motifs, invite viewers to engage with complex historical narratives and philosophical reflections.

In Timaeus and the Nations, Nguyen draws inspiration from Plato’s dialogue Timaeus and the global maritime practice of “Flags of Convenience,” where merchant vessels register in one country but fly the flag of another for regulatory benefits. Through this lens, Nguyen explores the making and unmaking of national identity and the pursuit of an elegant world order in the 21st century. Her paintings depict a spectrum of figures in positions of leadership, from statesmen to pirates, as she investigates the concept of Demiurge, the divine craftsman in Timaeus, who created the cosmos, the physical world and its beings using mathematics, reason and faith. By reimagining and merging these seemingly disparate ideas from past and present, Nguyen offers a profound inquiry into the intersections of geopolitics, colonial legacies, and the construction of nationhood.

Anchoring the exhibition is Nguyen’s striking artist book, 2:4:8, handcrafted from the sewing pattern of a vintage naval uniform and designed to open in three ways. Made with hand-marbled mulberry paper, it contains legal documents, haikus, and musical notes, underscoring the philosophical questions at the heart of her new oeuvre—world order, leadership, nationhood, and the arbitrary construction of national identity through symbols. Visitors are invited to explore the inner pages of this book and engage with its layered narrative that shifts between historical fact and poetic interpretation.

Nguyen further examines the moral ambiguities and contradictions of nationhood and global trade by creating 23 new embroidered tapestries from the colors and patterns of the flags of 46 participating nations. These tapestries, embroidered with symbols and excerpts of national anthems, highlight the arbitrary construction of nationhood cultivated through the display of national symbols. Visitors can listen to Nguyen’s reimagined and reconstructed pseudo-anthems on the Museum’s website or through QR codes placed next to the embroidered flags in the gallery.