Five Vietnamese artists will open a group exhibition titled “Neo-Expressionism” at VICAS Center for Assistance and Development of Contemporary Arts (VICAS Art Studio) in Hanoi on April 3.

“Neo-Expressionism” exhibition will be held in Hanoi from April 3 to 28 - PHOTO: COURTESY OF VICAS ART STUDIO

The participating artists are Nguyen Van The, Pham Thanh Toan, Hoang Khanh Du, Dang Thanh and Le Thua Ngoc Hai.

“They have rather clear tendency of neo-expressionism. Some just follow the spontaneity and instinct while others intentionally do research about neo-expressionism on the Internet. In any way, their painting language all has the same reference with the language of the neo-expressionism predecessors around the world. They have contributed to making the language of neo-expressionism today more diverse and more personalized,” said Bui Quang Thang, art director of VICAS Art Studio.

Neo-expressionism, also known as Junge Wilde or Neue Wilden, was initiated in the late 1970s by a group of German painters including Georg Baselitze as the leader and other well-known artists such as Anselm Kiefer, Markus Lupertz, Eugen Schonebeck and AR Penck.

It was developed as a reaction against minimalism and conceptualism which were dominating European art at the time which concerned things far from reality. Neo-expressionism then spread to various countries in Europe and flourished in the U.S. with prominent artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, Julian Schnabel and Elizabeth Murray.

Human, sexuality, mythology and history were the popular topics of the movement and later political and psychological issues are also included.