The Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA) in Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi is running two solo exhibitions, namely “Bicycles” by Vietnamese-born French artist Tran Thu Van and “Ellipses” by Ha Manh Thang, one of the prominent faces on the Vietnamese art scene.

Visitors look at a board with information about Ha Manh Thang’s “Ellipses” exhibition at VCCA - PHOTO: COURTESY OF VCCA

“Bicycles” is the first solo installation exhibition of Tran Thu Van in Vietnam, marking her involvement in the art scene of her home country. She brings to the exhibition her latest artworks that are presented to the public for the first time.

The idea for the exhibition stems from the VCCA’s space itself, making the process of creating these artworks a direct conversation between the artist and this space.

Inspired by a song from Tran Thu Van’s childhood and with symbolic materials like rubber bands, sails and ceramics, the exhibition portrays the history of the artist as well as her desire to create a fictional world.

In “Ellipses”, Ha Manh Thang introduces his new works, which are inspired by Li Bai and Du Fu’s poems. His works are a combination of Western art and Asian spirit, reminding viewers of the past and what has been lost.

The two solo exhibitions at the same time and at the same space, show the audience the contrast between the two artists’ living environment, life styles and artistic styles.

Within the framework of the exhibitions, VCCA will hold several interactive performances, art talks and workshops to help visitors understand more about contemporary art and how the artists create their artworks.

Conceptual artist Tran Thu Van was born in 1979 in HCMC and is now living in Paris, France. She has participated in many exhibitions in famous galleries and museums such as Moderna Museet and Neue Berliner Kunstverein, and attended Venice Biennale 2017, one of the largest and most prestigious contemporary art exhibition in the world.

Ha Manh Thang was born in 1980 in Thai Nguyen Province. His paintings’ surface is the intersection of brushstrokes and carves, of oil and raw materials, of different colors and shapes, of Western art and Vietnamese traditional artifacts. He has showcased his works in several local and international exhibition spaces such as L’espace, Quynh Gallery, and Singapore Art Museum. 

Both exhibitions are open until February 10.

SGT