Narong Tintamusik
about the artist
Narong Tintamusik (ณรงค์ตนิตมสุ กิ) is an artist based in Dallas, TX. His work is autobiographical, mining elements from his 2nd-Generation Thai-American upbringing, Queer identity, Buddhist spirituality, and previous career in the biological sciences. Through painting and its iterations, he makes attempts to gain greater understanding of his place in this world. Born in Dallas, TX, he lived in Bangkok, Thailand for 10 years. He obtained his Biology undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Dallas with a minor in visual arts in 2014. He is currently pursuing a Master of Fine Arts degree in Painting and Drawing from the University of North Texas. Prior to entering graduate school, he worked in the environmental science industry for 7 years. He has exhibited in group shows locally in Dallas, TX and beyond including Chicago, New York, Canada, and Germany. Solo exhibitions include 500X (Dallas, TX), Plush Gallery (Dallas, TX), Tarleton State University (Stephenville, TX), and Angelina College (Lufkin, TX). He is the recipient of the DeGoyler Memorial Fund (Dallas Museum of Art 2015), Art Walk West Microgrant (West Dallas Chamber of Commerce 2021), and the Puffin Foundation Grant (Puffin Foundation 2022). He was a part of artist-run gallery 500X from 2019-2022. In addition to being an artist, Tintamusik is an independent curator where his focus often lies on the ideas of identity, queerness, sexuality, diaspora, figuration, abstraction, fashion, love, and nature. His curatorial projects include To Remember to Speak our Mother Tongue (2022) at Goldmark Cultural Center, Human/Nature (2021) at Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Tree With Half a Root (2021) at Mountain View College, and Queer Me Now: The Queer Body and Gaze (2020) at 500X Gallery and The MAC. He also started Musik, a virtual curatorial platform that offers solo exhibitions to artists without gallery representation through invitational and open calls from August 2020 - November 2021.
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artist statement
As a Queer 2nd-Generation Thai-American Buddhist with a background in the sciences, I am constantly exploring my place in the world. I am intrigued by the challenges presented by a society that is obsessed with worldly pleasures, rejects tradition, and is facing ecological collapse. Through my art, I attempt to bridge the gap between my present-day experiences and my ancestral heritage, recognizing that I can never fully recreate the past. I am committed to maintaining that lineage while feeling "enough" in my current context. My work explores themes of rebirth, sustainability, reclamation, and the relationship between material and immaterial worlds. I use a variety of materials in my art, including those that are new and those that have had a previous life. By allowing objects to take on multiple reincarnations, I explore the potential for transformation and the possibility of new beginnings. My work is often characterized by bold colors and various surface treatments that allude to natural and man-made processes. Working intuitively and playing with multiple ingredients allows me to find satisfaction in the studio. By exploring difficult and complex experiences through art, I am able to better understand myself and the world around me. Art is a safe space for me to express myself and create something beautiful out of the challenges I face.
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