Vietnamese fine art is often looked through a geographic lens (South, Central and North) or by groups of artists rather than individual ones.
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Although it is worth acknowledging that economic and historical restrictions mean that artists tend to gravitate towards Hanoi, Saigon and Hue; it is equally true that Vietnamese artists are rarely seen, studied and featured as sole entities, but rather as a representation of a national idea of “Vietnamese art,” a notion that, to some extent, is the result of a socialist narrative.
To celebrate its 6th anniversary, Craig Thomas Gallery is currently exhibiting One Country, which aims to break away from these artificial divisions by presenting the artwork of 15 individual artists from various part of the country – Hanoi, Saigon, Hue, Hay Tay Province, An Gian Province and Hai Phong).
Hoi hoa or painting (particularly oil paintings) still dominate the contemporary art scene in Vietnam and has done so since the colonial period. With the exception of some lacquer paintings and a sculpture, several of the works in the show confirm the hard-to-shake notion that what is considered “true” art in Vietnam is still oil painting.
Saigon-born artist Hoang Ngoc Tu’s three medium-scale paintings – Singing with a Choir, Hot Stars and Red Carpet Stars - could be seen as a parody of contemporary society’s fascination with glamourous celebrities, stardom and popularity. In Tu’s works, green-pasty “stars” enjoy the adulation of photographers and businessmen that all look the same and of a faceless crowd more interested in capturing the “stars” via their tablets and gizmos than actually experiencing the moment.
In “Alone,” Vietnamese-Cambodian painter Lim Khim Ka Ty (who is also based in the southern economic hub) pursues her interest in capturing the ethereal human essence of ordinary people. Here, a girl is seen eating soup at a table but, as in many of Ka Ty’s previous portraits, there is no reference to time or place; only the loneliness of her subject emerges from the canvas.
Politically charged painter Pham Huy Thong, better known for his Hands series, creates a modern city floating in a blood-red sky in Bubble Kingdom. None of the elements present in the painting shine a light of optimism or possible future escape: the balloons, hanging over the imaginary city, do not possess any shred of the colourful and joyful connotation normally associated to these children toys; the modern cityscape lacks any sign of human or natural life; and a complex, subterranean sewage system resembles blood bleeding from the land.
Veteran sculptor, Bui Hai Son, whose work has been displayed in the Ho Chi Minh Fine Art Museum as well as in Hanoi, Korea and Japan, is among the sculptors involved in implementing a city sculpture plan for Saigon. The show features his Black Isle, a small-scale sculpture in the media of inox, glass and lacquer.
One Country sees the evolution of the work by Ngo Van Sac, the 2012 Dogma Prize winner for portraiture who is best known for his burnt-portraits on wood. In this show, however, the fragmentation of his subjects, an interpretation of the memory of the country through portraits, natural elements and extracts from magazines, takes the form of collage and acrylic.
The work of popular artist Bui Tien Tuan merges past and present by depicting singular female portraits on black, vermillion and golden-brown lacquer paintings, a technique that has been strongly rooted in Vietnamese art since ancient times.
To expect a single exhibition to fully mirror and reconcile the artistic creations of an entire country would absurd; however, this is indeed a rare occasion that highlights the differences between various artists (particularly in the choice of themes), and most importantly, it re-establishes their connection to the history of art in Vietnam as a whole.
One Country is currently on display at Craig Thomas Gallery until the 25th of July.
27i Tran Nhat Duat Street, Tan Dinh Ward, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, +84 (0)903 888 431.
