Serene and Grounded, Tony Huynh’s Paintings Depict Summertime Memories
Tony Huynh, Isabelle Island (2024). Oil on panel, in artist's frame. Panel: 9 x 12 in. Courtesy of the artist and Scroll NYC.
Tony Huynh’s solo show at Scroll NYC opened on a bleak, rainy evening. It was the kind of rain that no umbrella had an answer for, but Tribeca’s Walker Street was lively nonetheless; inclement weather can never stop New Yorkers. Rest assured, when I reached the gallery, the show was filled with small paintings that turned a dreary, dark evening into a delightful exploration of light and shadow.
Installation view of Tony Huynh: A Summer’s Dream, on view from August 3–31, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Scroll NYC.
The California-based painter has produced thirteen new paintings—all oil on panel—the largest being 16 x 20 inches. Don’t let the small sizes fool you; each piece has an inviting presence that calls for a slow, meditative exploration. You’ll discover the flora and fauna that concern Huynh’s mind and heart. You’ll find seagulls flying and diving in the sea in Sea Drifters (2024); you’ll discover a curious dog ready to play as he is surrounded by fallen oranges in The Orange Tree (2024), and you will even find yourself visually pelted by rain as you gaze into the distant skyline in Rain at the Pier (2024). There’s a variety of ordinary experiences—the beauties of dawn and dusk—all rendered in rich, earthy tones that are simple, direct, and textural.
Tony Huynh, Rain at the Pier (2024). Oil on panel, in artist's frame. Panel: 10 x 10 in. Courtesy of the artist and Scroll NYC.
The gallery’s press release touches on Huynh’s intuitive painting process: “Huynh looks to a memory or conversation and gets straight to painting, skipping preparatory sketches and moving straight to capturing the feeling of the image.” He is an artist unconcerned with facts or picture-perfect accuracy but with feelings. Consider The Still Night at Shore (2024), where we observe the distant horizon, a view of the shore frozen in utter tranquility. We are there with him, looking over the white picket fence, observing a home with a single luminous window off to the side. At the center of the painting is the sublime moon—its reflection shimmering in the water as it floats stoically in the somber, starless sky painted in a midnight-blue hue. If you look closer, you’ll find thick textures of paint placed in a non-uniform way, the blue tones mimicking the direction of a passing cloud in a wave-like ripple.
Tony Huynh, The Still Night at Shore (2024). Oil on panel, in artist's frame. Panel: 11 x 14 in. Courtesy of the artist and Scroll NYC.
As I reflect on Huynh’s paintings, I see an artist whose imagination is more literal than fantastical. Although the title of his show evokes surreal summertime reveries, this show reads more like the artist’s memories of summer, given that the paintings feel grounded and rooted in life. The wonders of the outdoors and certain mundane moments are communicated in a direct and simple way, reminiscent of Milton Avery, one of his influences. Huynh is not a painter who is overly preoccupied with technical precision or political commentaries. Instead, he shines in creating memorable pictures of a somewhat familiar world that’s almost too serene to be true. His work feels authentic, nostalgic, and unpretentious. Like a breath of fresh air in the stultifying summer heat, his modestly scaled paintings absorb viewers into the wonders and emotional subtleties of the everyday world.
Installation view of Tony Huynh: A Summer’s Dream, on view from August 3–31, 2024. Courtesy of the artist and Scroll NYC.
Tony Huynh: A Summer’s Dream is on view from August 3 to 31, 2024, at Scroll NYC.
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