Vincom Center for Contemporary Art

On 14 Dec 2018, Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA) will host the opening for two unique solo exhibitions: “Bicycles” by Vietnamese-born French artist Thu Van Tran and “Ellipses” by Ha Manh Thang, one of the prominent faces on the Vietnamese art scene.

“Bicycles” is Thu Van Tran’s first solo installation exhibition in Vietnam, marking a milestone for the artist’s participation and involvement in the art scene in her home country. All of her works shown in this exhibition are brand new, presented to the public for the first time. The idea for the exhibition was drawn from VCCA space itself and the forming and executing process is a direct conversation with this space – an art practice rarely seen in Vietnam. Inspired by a memorable song from the artist’s childhood, with symbolic local media (rubberbands, sails, ceramics), the exhibition holds in itself self-identification and history of the artist, as well as the desire to create a fictional world.

“Ellipses” is a solo exhibition presenting new works of Ha Manh Thang, one of the most prominent faces of the Vietnamese art scene, of abstract expressionist art language and installation art. The inspriation for this series of work is the Middle Age poems by Li Bai and Du Fu, where time and space expanded creating interactions that are both sudden and scattered at the same time, where thoughts on the relation between human and nature, between an individual and the world become visible. His works have the sophistication of Western modern art, yet still hold in them an Asian spirit, reminding us of the past and the regret for what is lost.

Although the approach and the techniques used by the two artists are not the same (Thu Van Tran is a conceptual artist why Ha Manh Thang is a visual artist), in them exist a harmony in emotions – much like when the artisan converse with different uses of materials. Social and cultural context is weaved, carved into the surface of the materials like a bridge, activate the complexity of aesthetics: contemporary yet energetic and relevant, and through that, breathe life into art.

Both artists are of the same generation (Thu Van Tran was born in 1979 in Ho Chi Minh City, Ha Manh Thang was born in 1980 in Thai Nguyen), but as of now they are living in two different regions of the world.

Two solo exhibitions taking place at the same time, at the same space, showing the contrast between the two artists in terms of geography, course of life and artistic styles, helping the audience to approach, in a large scale, contemporary/modern art as well as understand its importance to the current society.

Within the framework of the exhibition, VCCA will host interactive performances, art talks, workshops… to help the visitors understand more about contemporary art as well as how the artists practice their arts. Detailed program will be updated regularly on the official fanpage facebook.com/VCCAVIETNAM/ of the center.

“Bicycles” and “Ellipses” open from 14 Dec 2018 to 10 Feb 2019 at Vincom Center for Contemporary Arts (VCCA), B1 – R3, Vincom Mega Mall Royal City (72A Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan district, Hanoi).

Tran Thu Van (1979)
Conceptual artist Tran Thu Van lives and works in Paris, France. Using multiple medium and different forms of expression, her works hold in them emotions on aesthetics shown through personal experience as well as historical researches. She participated in many exhibitions in famous galleries and museums such as Moderna Museet (Sweden), Neue Berliner Kunstverein; and also in Venice Biennale 2017 – one of the largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition in the world, Marcel Duchamp Prize 2018.

Ha Manh Thang (1980)
Ha Manh Thang is one of the most prominent artists of Vietnam with his own personal style. In his art, the painting surface is the touchpoint of brushstrokes and carves, of oil and raw materials, different non-conforming color patches and shapes, of Western modern art and Vietnamese traditional artifacts… Ha Manh Thang participated in many prestigious exhibition spaces in and out of the country such as L’espace (Hanoi), Quỳnh Gallery, Singapore Art Museum…