THE FOLIAGE V – THE TOUCH OF SCIENCE | LE THIET CUONG'S "FACE"
FACE
FACE refers to planes that are almost purely two-dimensional, which connect, stack, combine, and, most importantly, bend to form volumes, becoming three-dimensional, becoming sculpture.
When these Sur-faces are combined, they do not form a seamless whole; they are never perfectly aligned. There are always gaps, openings, or partially closed spaces. These voids and gaps create hollow surfaces, establishing a rhythm of solid–void–void–solid. There is “being” and “non-being,” intertwined. The creation of “nothing” is not emptiness; these voids carry the essence of “nothingness.” Minimalism is precisely this “essence of nothingness” – it is about presence in absence. Minimalism is not about more or less, nor about not drawing, not carving, or not shaping forms.
The assembly of discontinuous planes also produces Volumetric Sur-faces, even a flat plane becomes a volume. This gives a new dimension to the plane; for the first time, a two-dimensional surface acquires a third dimension.
FACE consists of blocks that are cut, split horizontally and vertically, divided, and then recombined, but offset, staggered, to add an additional dimension: the dimension of the Sur-face. Grains of rice are cut in half but are either not aligned perfectly or aligned yet staggered.
These Sur-face dimensions expand the volume, giving it more space, clarifying its form, and providing it with another surface, another mold.
FACE represents “sameness.” Minimalist sculpture embodies “sameness.”
I cannot do anything other than minimalism.
Lê Thiết Cương
(Written September 2016, last revised July 5, 2025)
