The exhibition, themed Soi (Thread), will run from October 26 to November 7, 2025, at Artera Space, 115 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

“Soi” is not just about the physical threads but also about the emotional and spiritual ones that connect individuals to their deepest, silent memories.

Through familiar materials like yarn and silk, Thao Nguyen Phuong allows these threads to speak her artistic voice.

Each weave, knot, and loop becomes a pulse of emotion - a trace of time sewn together with patience and dedication.

Fiber art - a new voice in contemporary creativity

Fiber art is gradually gaining recognition as a standalone form of contemporary expression.

In Vietnam, such works are often mistakenly labeled as “embroidery.”

While embroidery, knitting, or sewing have traditionally been considered practical handicrafts, fiber art liberates these materials from their utilitarian roles.

Here, the thread becomes a language - a medium for artists to convey emotions and personal reflections.

Back in the 1950s, artists began transforming threads into expressive works.

During the 1960s and 1970s, the medium saw a boom as creators experimented with knotting, braiding, coiling, and interweaving techniques.

This movement paralleled the rise of feminism, as artists used fiber to blur the lines between “craft” and “art” and challenge traditional gender roles.

Globally, renowned artists such as Magdalena Abakanowicz, Sheila Hicks, and Anni Albers have worked tirelessly to bring fiber art closer to the public.

In Vietnam, since 2019, Thao Nguyen Phuong has quietly pioneered the movement in her own way, introducing the art form to local audiences.

The emotional and persistent journey of creation

Though trained in interior and exterior design, Thao Nguyen Phuong discovered her passion in fiber.

She taught herself, step by step, letting that passion guide her.

Each stitch, layer, and composition carries traces of time, as if threading together her own artistic journey - a means of reflecting her life story.

Her dedication to the process, from selecting the right colors to finalizing the piece, is a constant path of learning and creation.

When asked what draws her to the material, she responds that thread possesses a language all its own - soft yet resilient, delicate yet unyielding.

In her hands, threads become emotional brushstrokes, forming a self-portrait woven from introspection.

The beauty of imperfection

In Thao Nguyen Phuong’s artistic world, viewers can experience powerful emotional surges, as well as quiet, melancholic undertones.

Accepting that life is not always perfect, she allows the thread to guide her through the fragments of pain and beauty.

Immersed in this flow, she finds herself - and within that discovery, embraces the beauty of imperfection.

From these insights, the Soi exhibition was born.

Its name is both literal and symbolic: Soi refers not only to the material itself but also to the connections it represents - between emotion and memory, tradition and modernity, craft and creativity.

Each work in the exhibition is a strand drawn from personal experience, woven into a tapestry of stories.

A continuation of creative exploration

For Thao Nguyen Phuong, this exhibition marks not only a milestone but a beginning.

The deeper she delves into the material, the more she realizes how much further she wants to explore - discovering new possibilities in thread, emotion, and herself.

The exhibition also serves as a heartfelt tribute to those who have supported her journey into fiber art.

She hopes to shift public perception: that threads are not merely tools for sewing but are equally powerful expressive materials, no less artistic than any other.

Soi does not simply tell her personal story but contributes a voice to affirm fiber art’s growing presence in Vietnam’s contemporary scene - a space where traditional craftsmanship is constantly reimagined.

Amid a fast-paced world, Soi quietly weaves together moments and emotions, reminding us that the truest beauty often lies in the simplest, most familiar things around us.

Tu Uyen