Exhibition “The Essence of a Pearl”

09 am – 08 pm, Dec 23, 2023 –  Jan 7, 2024
Floor 4, Madame Lan Restaurant, 4 Bach Dang Street, Hai Chau District, Da Nang

The first exhibition of its kind in Da Nang, introducing 35 artworks by 14 artists representing the professors and alumni of l’École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (1924-1945) as we celebrate the school’s centennial anniversary. Inspired by a classic line in The Tale of Kieu, the curatorial concept revolves around two narratives in parallel: the image of the Vietnamese woman and the portrayal of the Indochine landscape, under the artistic lexicon blending East and West.

Christmas Concert

Dec 20 & 21, 8pm

HCMC Opera House, No. 7 Cong Truong Lam Son, D1, HCMC

Colorful lights, sweet treats and depictions of Santa and snowmen all contribute to the Christmas season’s festive feeling. But nothing exemplifies the holiday more than music. Whether sung in churches, played on shopping mall sound systems or performed by choirs stopped in front of homes, iconic Christmas songs make the final weeks of December a special time of year.

The Ho Chi Minh City Ballet Symphony Orchestra and Opera (HBSO) is honoring this tradition with a special Christmas Concert on December 20 and 21 at the Saigon Opera House. The evening will feature 14 memorable Christmas tunes spanning styles, eras and nations performed by an array of talented local performers.

Mystical Topography

Until Jan 28, 2024, 09 am – 08 pm,
Annam Gallery, 371/4 Hai Ba Trung Street, D3, HCMC

Le Ba Dang (1921-2015) stands as one of the renowned modern Vietnamese artists who gained recognition in Europe in the latter half of the 20th century through a cross-disciplinary visual language system imbued with distinct individuality. Although he lived and practised far from his homeland, his works flourish from the Vietnamese roots, immersed with the Vietnamese identity, ,culture, and history. His practice is built upon meticulous and scientifically rigorous research, creating unique approaches and techniques in handmade paper production, including lithography, serigraphy combined with gilding technique termed “Lebadanggraphie,” and collage and superimposition – mixing sculpture and bas-relief, to create elevated spatial compositions coined as “Spacegraphie.” The latter technique inspired the curatorial concept of this exhibition.

”Fields of Optics | Chapter I: Biocenosis”

Until Feb 21, 2024
Le Lycée Gallery, Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa, No. 2 Le Lai, Ward 5, Da Lat City

After the excursion for 3 young artists to the natural sceneries of traditional French architecture in Da Lat “Art Trail #01 – Travelling & Open Studio”, Lân Tinh Foundation, along with Annam Gallery and Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa, proudly introduces a new group show titled “Fields of Optics | Chapter I: Biocenosis” showcasing 35 works from 3 artists Phan Thị Thanh Nhã, Phạm Xeen and Hà My. All 3 artists are under the curatorial patronization from Lân Tinh Foundation, and are being represented by Annam Gallery.

“Biocenosis” is the first chapter from the series Fields of Optics, a project initiated by Lân Tinh Foundation. Field of optics is the entire area that can be seen when the eyes are focused on a single fixed point. Each individual possesses a particular visual field and colour spectrum, and what each person sees is characteristic and unique, even when they are observing the same object. It is this attribute that diversified in each artist’s creations.

Dreaming of Weaving Sky Nets

10:00 am – 05:30 pm, 21 – 25 Dec 2023
16 Street 12, Ward Bình An, District 2, HCMC

“And They Shall Take Root Wherever the Soil Goes” is a series of Rab practices that explore the profound human relationship with the soil. This series delves into the sacredness and intimacy of this relationship, with a particular focus on three stages: ‘We take birth from soil’, ‘We live on the soil’ and ‘We vanish in soil’. These stages appear in parallel, randomly, without a clear beginning or end, much like the idea that every moment is a point on a circle and possesses the same significance.

The artwork “Dreaming of Weaving Sky Nets” is a piece that belongs to the ‘We live on the soil’ stage. The artwork employs performance and installation materials to narrate the intricate relationship between all things and the universe. Influenced by Asian religions, the artwork presents the belief that the universe is composed of interconnected ‘webs’ of relationships and is in a constant state of movement and flux.

Rab (b. 2000, HCMC) is a multimedia artist based in Saigon, Vietnam. Her practice focuses on the relationship; especially memory and sacredness that exist in the mind and its surroundings. In her most recent work, she has a tendency to gravitate towards primal experience in order to excavate the intimacy in natural materials in mankind’s spiritual life.

Exhibition “To each their own sky”

Until Jan 28, 2024, 09 am – 08 pm, Tues – Sun
Mo Art Space, Floor B3, 136 Hang Trong Street, Hoan Kiem District.

A solo exhibition by artist Nguyen Hoa.

Trained in Sculpture, Nguyen Hoa embraced painting as an additional medium for expressing his artistic spirit—a medium that serves as both a reflection upon and resistance to time. Each of his compositions, meticulously crafted and deliberately scarce, forms part of a series of reflections, sometimes comprising no more than three pieces.Throughout the series, ancient architectural details act as a frame—a metaphor laden with poignancy and conflict, unraveling scenes, rituals, routines, and rules not only of history and heritage but also of the very fabric of existence that any artist residing and working in the ancient capital of Hue inevitably carries along.”

”At the Roots, the Mirage is Clear”

10 am – 07 pm, Tues – Sun 10 Dec 2023 – 04 Feb 2024
Gate Gate Gallery, 55 Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội

Wandering through a forest or amidst a sprawling landscape, we see how nature is crafting space for symbiosis. The term “roots” assumes diverse forms: the arboreal roots of trees, the origins of problems, the tendrils of hair, or the underpinnings of one’s being. Each manifestation gestures towards a depth, submerged and concealed, typically eluding immediate perception. Yet, paradoxically, these concealed facets serve as the genesis, the unfurling, the descent, and the culmination of all things. So why do we call them roots? How can our roots be discerned, discovered, or sensed? Where are we when we realised we are at the roots?

Gate Gate proudly represents “At the roots, the mirage is clear | Dưới gốc, mờ ảo hiện” – A thoughtful dialogue between artists Nguyen TraMi and Vũ Trung as they embark their journey to find their nature and origins. While the works of Trà Mi Nguyễn and Vũ Đức Trung hold distinct and distinguished positions, they also somehow engage in dialogues between the traditions of their respective crafts. These dialogues offer viewers an alternative context, encouraging them to observe and perceive not only as folk art but also to extend their reflections to contemporary society. In this dynamic exchange, art becomes a bridge that connects past and present, inviting us to contemplate the evolving culture and society. Deeper still, they connect us as we contemplate the roots, for it is in returning to the roots that the mirage becomes apparent.

Exhibition curated by Nam Nguyen.

Outdoor display of antique artifacts 

Until the end of 2024, Pleiku City, Gia Lai Province

An outdoor exhibition entitled “Tay Nguyen – Gia Lai Paradise” displaying antique artifacts of local ethnic people.

Highlights of the exhibition are a white elephant bone chair dating back 700 years and a collection of elephant hunting tools dating back more than 100 years of the M'Nong ethnic group.

On display are thousands of antique artifacts of collector Dang Minh Tam, including musical instruments, hunting and weaving tools, ceremonial objects, jewelry items and other items in the life of ethnic groups in the five Central Highlands provinces.

Exhibition “Transfiguration”

06 – 20 Dec 2023
The Muse Artspace, 47 Treng Tien Street, Hanoi

Vu Hiep undertook a long and strenuous path when concurrently researching fine art and the artistic application of architecture, resulting in his eccentric art form. One that was molded from Vietnamese spiritual values, architecture, ancient sculpture, and peculiar artistry with a surreal touch from the traditional painting material, silk.Only a few contemporary painters pursue a path with such a distinct and coherent mindset. A prominent attribute in Vu Hiep’s paintings is the integration of traditional folklore, with its vague yet witty humor, and sometimes exaggeration (or “sass” – stated by the artist when talking about Vietnamese artistic identity).

Overvoltage

17 Nov – 31 Dec 2023
High-voltage electric station 33B, Gia Lâm Train Factory
551 Nguyễn Văn Cừ, Gia Thụy, Long Biên, Hà Nội

Vietnam Art Collection (VAC) is delighted to present ‘Overvoltage’, a site-responsive intervention by Vy Trịnh, curated by Vân Đỗ and organized by Á Space.

The scanner stops working suddenly, total black out. A train crashed, the chassis is burning into hazy ashes and flames. No one knows what has happened. The clock ticks backwards, time stops then runs again x 5.0 speed. The sculptor arrives on an Akira slide. Everything is pitch black. The last light bulb begins to flicker.

Space is the main material in ‘Overvoltage’. Taking an existing site – an electric supply room – as an organic and mechanical site, both human and nonhuman, ‘Overvoltage’ witnesses an encounter between existing traces of an overall architectural structure and a sculptor who will produce on site, within a specific time frame, using materials sourced from electrical supply stores, adhering to the industry and the ecologies within the factory and nearby the site (Long Biên District).

‘Overvoltage’ proposes that a particular site is not necessarily overcast by its socio-political shadows, but can rather be felt and made present – like how electricity current delivers, flows, and interrupts – through affect. Through Vy’s methodology of active working on-site, the train factory becomes her motor in revealing the kind of personality it once was and is as of now – being exposed, intervened, coming into sudden contact with strangers, awaiting an undetermined future.

Exhibition “Now We Are 10″