vi nguyen's hand-beaded treats create sparkling 'bodega' at gotham

Beaded Bodega: Vi Nguyen’s Nostalgic SHOW at Gotham NY

Gotham, New York City’s leading licensed cannabis dispensary and concept store, shows handcrafted works by artist Vi Nguyen with an exhibition titled Beaded Bodega. The installation, located in Gotham’s mezzanine-level gallery, runs from August 21st to September 18th, 2024, and features beaded renditions of twenty-one of the most familiar and beloved snack foods. Nguyen, a self-taught hand-beading embroidery artist, brings her unique artistic perspective to this vibrant collection, demonstrating her skill in transforming everyday items into decorative art pieces.

Vi Nguyen’s journey into embroidery began as a creative outlet during the pandemic, though her connection to the craft runs deeper. Nguyen was inspired by her mother, who grew up in Vietnam hand-sewing and embellishing clothing. This early exposure to needlework laid the foundation for her current practice. Her beaded creations, replicating widely recognized snack food brands, evoke a sense of nostalgia and childhood memories through the meticulous medium of hand-beading.

Haribo Gold Bears, image © Rebecca Peloquin

Celebrating Snack Food Culture Through Beading

Beaded Bodega at Gotham NY captures the essence of New York City’s bodega culture, drawing from artist Vi Nguyen’s experiences living in the city. These corner stores, iconic to NYC, are known for their range of snacks and everyday essentials. Nguyen’s pieces feature amplified, beaded versions of familiar items such as morning bagels, late-night chips, and even lottery tickets, showcasing her talent for turning everyday objects into visually engaging art. This collection not only highlights the artist’s technical skill but also pays homage to the bodega’s role in the daily life of New Yorkers.

Nguyen’s artistic approach revolves around transforming commonplace food items into unexpected, fun, and decorative artworks. Using beads, she creates textured, vibrant, and glimmering pieces that invite closer inspection. Her fascination with snack food packaging, particularly the branding and design found in chip and candy aisles, is evident in her work. Her beaded interpretations bring these everyday designs to life, enhancing their appeal with beauty and sparkle. designboom interviewed the artist to learn more about her processes and inspirations!

Chester’s Flamin’ Hot Fries, image © Rebecca Peloquin

in conversation with artist vi nguyen

designboom (DB): What inspired you to focus on snack food culture as the subject of your artwork?

Vi Nguyen (VN): Food can be such an easy common ground amongst different cultures or communities, very much like a bodega. To me, snacks in the food world are always fun, joyful, and can even be nostalgic. I love transforming something well-known, like your favorite bag of chips, into something eye-catching and an unexpected art medium. I personally am fueled by snacks so it feeds my beading inspiration.

DB:You mention that your mother’s hand-sewing and embellishment of clothes influenced your work. Can you share more about how these early experiences shaped your approach to embroidery and beading?

VN: Because my mom could sew and make just about any costume a kid could dream of, I was lucky to get to experience the end to end process right beside her. From going to the fabric store to the final fitting, she showed me the fun, beauty and value in being able to hand make something. What an incredible feeling to have something made just for you. Although I’ve never attempted to make clothes myself, I would sit there in awe of all the techniques and patience that went into clothes making.

Lay’s Potato Chips, image © Rebecca Peloquin

VN continued: Years later when I was seeking a new creative outlet, it felt natural to gravitate towards a needle and thread as a medium to explore and bring hand making something into my life. I jumped right into teaching myself hand embroidery through books and YouTube. I always enjoyed small meticulous crafts so I somehow found one of the small mediums to use, glass beads. For me, the bead embroidery process is very meditative and it feels incredibly satisfying to complete a piece and know that you just made that by hand, forty hours later. I hope people can continue to value and enjoy the beauty of hand embroidered beadwork and handmade goods. Something I’m so glad I picked up from my mom.

DB: How does living in New York City inspire your work, and what significance do bodegas hold for you?

VN: Living in New York feels like you can have anything, anytime, whenever you want it. The possibilities feel endless. Much like a bodega where you step into this tiny store and suddenly you have everything you need. To date, most of my beaded artwork has been snacks and sweets but I am starting to venture into beverages. We can bead items in the household aisle, on the magazine wall, and all those behind-the-counter goodies. Bodegas offer endless creative inspiration.

When thinking about my time living in New York, there are so many life events that happen where my bodega has seen it all. From grabbing a drink and lottery ticket to celebrate landing a new job to buying a pint of ice cream and chips to soak in your sorrows to getting your first BEC after being out of town. Food and snacks can evoke such a memory so being able to transform them into beaded artwork is my ode to New York and your local bodega.

Pocky, image © Rebecca Peloquin

DB: How do you choose which snacks to recreate, and what elements of their packaging and branding catch your eye?

VN: Beaded Bodega has a full back inventory of items to recreate! Sometimes I choose items that I feel personally connected to or enjoy eating. I’m also always talking about snacks with people so it’s fun to hear what other folks like and I make a mental note.

When it comes to packaging and branding, bright colors and typography catches my eye. Color matching and perfecting logos are two parts that I always want to nail down right. A lot of legacy snack brands rotate between the same colors (red, blue, orange) so it’s fun exploring more modern brands with bolder type and colors. Snack mascots are also fun to bead since they’re like a mini artwork in itself.

Frosted Strawberry Pop Tarts, image © Rebecca Peloquin

DB: With twenty-one beaded snacks on view, can you share any pieces that were especially memorable or challenging?

VN: My Lay’s Trio set, which consists of Salt & Vinegar, Sour Cream & Onion and Barbeque, was a wonderful learning experience. This is the only set I’ve made. I found it challenging to repeatedly bead the same logo multiple times. This is why my pieces are one-of-a-kind and nothing will be mass produced. Typography is often the most challenging to bead and in these pieces I blended beading with traditional embroidery which I’ve now learned how to better incorporate using all beads. The chips in these pieces were also the first time I beaded food which was a fun new challenge to explore turning beads into realistic things. There were so many different elements I was able to learn in making just one piece.

However, Lay’s Sour Cream & Onion is a very memorable and special piece to me since it was the one that went ‘viral’ and truly helped open the doors for Beaded Bodega.

DB: As a self-taught artist who began beading during the pandemic, how has your artistic journey evolved since then, and what do you envision for the future of your practice?

VN: After the pandemic and unrelated to COVID, I went through a serious health challenge that shifted my perspective on life and career. I knew leaving the corporate technology career behind and fully venturing into this creative endeavors is the right journey for me (at least right now!) and I’m so happy to have you along for the ride. We’re definitely just starting!

I hope to continue beading all of your favorite snacks and things. I want to continue building the Beaded Bodega brand through like minded partnerships and get my artwork in the hands of my community. I’d love to have a West Coast art show next to continue gathering, snacking and enjoying beaded embroidery.

installation view, image © Gotham NY