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Born in Vietnam, Teo Nguyen lives and works in Minneapolis. His landscapes of the rural Upper Midwest capture the vast space, boundless fields, big skies, and chilling isolation distinctive to the region, particularly in winter. He enjoys exploring this novel terrain and sees a mesmerizing beauty sometimes overlooked in the land of his adopted home. “As an immigrant and an artist, ” he said, “I have learned to embrace the American spirit of freedom that says if you see a road that interests you, go ahead; venture down it. Even so, I am always a stranger to what I see; always slightly outside, finding in what is ordinary to others something tender and strange.” Intensely sensitive to the special qualities of this place—the novel scenery, light, and atmosphere—Nguyen is uniquely positioned to open the eyes of his fellow Minnesotans and their northern neighbors to the sublime beauty that surrounds them.