Tammy Nguyen’s inspired reinvention of the myth of Narcissus occupies a world apart from Ha Ninh Pham’s slightly demented vision of a parallel universe.
Vietnam
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In Vietnam, an Exhibition Reveals How Friendship Nourishes Artists
In Vietnam, networks of artist friends have built thriving communities of discourse and collaboration outside official structures.
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An Artist Attempts to Draw the Entire History of Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY — At times the downtown here can appear as one great, big construction site — gleaming Chanel storefronts arise around the corner from propaganda posters.
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Vietnamese Artists Respond to Marine Disaster Through #IChooseFish
In early April, a disturbing sight appeared on the central Vietnamese coast.
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Government Pressure Forces Closure of Vietnamese Artist Residency
What started as a series of unexpected visits from Vietnam’s Cultural Police has left one of Southeast Asia’s most respected artist residency programs temporarily stalled.
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At a Hanoi Prison Museum, a History Too Painful to Aestheticize
HANOI, Vietnam — The “Hanoi Hilton” is the sarcastic nickname bestowed by US prisoners of war on the Hoa Lo prison in Hanoi, formerly North Vietnam.
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Interactive Comic Commemorates the Tragic Story of the Vietnamese “Boat People”
For the commemoration of the 40th anniversary of the fall of Saigon, artist Matt Huynh — the son of Vietnamese boat people — adapted the award-winning story “The Boat” into an interactive comic.
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The Complex Tale of Vietnamese Modernism
Vietnamese contemporary art has received a fair amount of press recently and that’s a good thing. However, most Vietnamese artists who are reviewed either studied abroad or have had the opportunity to travel abroad, or grew up outside of Vietnam before returning home.
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Nurturing New Art in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH CITY — Galerie Quynh’s current exhibition, The Cosmos and the Sea, features new work by Los Angeles–based artist Christine Nguyen. Her large drawings and photographs provoke a vibrant imagined landscape of geometric forms and ephemeral figures.
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Death and Trade in Vietnam
HO CHI MINH, Vietnam — The exhibition Come to [What] End? tackles big questions in the way that art does best.
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Encountering Fluid Fractals in Hanoi
HANOI — On a recent visit, I asked everyone I met who was remotely involved in Hanoi’s contemporary art scene what the must-see experimental spaces were. Nhà Sàn Collective topped almost every list.
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Founded by Twin Artists, a Residency and Foundation Brightens Vietnam’s Art Scene
HUE, Vietnam — Brothers Thanh and Hai Le are at the center of the contemporary art scene in Hue, the Imperial City, located on the coast midway between Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City. They have a frenetic and positive energy, and everyone in Hue seems to know who they are. They have relationships with established artists in Hue, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City, as well as with young students and artists who have just completed their studies. I learned about them from the artist Morgan O’Hara and contacted them because I planned to travel to Vietnam. They invited me to stay at their residency at the New Space Arts Foundation.