Around the White Road: When fabrics become the language of art

The process of exploring Vũ Minh Dũng's (artistic name Minh Dung Vu) identity through traditional Vietnamese values ​​has shaped his solo exhibition titled "Around the White Road," marking his first exhibition in Vietnam.

Vũ Minh Dũng's childhood was intertwined with traditional sounds such as Chầu Văn – a type of Vietnamese folk music used in the spiritual rituals of the Mother Goddess religion – and the image of his grandmother sewing in the coastal province of Quảng Ninh. These memories became the foundation for his artistic style, interwoven with personal nostalgia and history.

The journey of migration and separation from his homeland profoundly influenced Dung's artistic practice. After moving to Germany at age 19, he found fabric to be a means of reconnecting with his Vietnamese roots, while simultaneously redefining himself within a new cultural context. His notable works, such as Green XXI, Green XXII, and Green XXIII, reflect this tension, with soft layers of fabric draped across the canvas, evoking traditional concepts of two-dimensional art.

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During a visit to Bridget Riley's expansive, white-filled studio in London in 2018, Vu Minh Dung felt his breath echoing. Similarly, during an encounter with Gate Gate Gallery, he was impressed by the unique curved architecture. These moments stimulated his creative process, leading him to create his work "Around the White Road." Dung's "Around the White Road" evokes a sense of absence by utilizing empty space or creating ambiguous imagery, making viewers feel as if they are confronting the absence of an object or event they themselves can imagine.

Over the years, Vu Minh Dung has created a body of work characterized by its textured surfaces, shifting colors, and natural forms. His move to Germany spurred him to work with fabric and maintain a connection to traditions such as the Vietnamese garment industry, while also altering viewers' perceptions of size and spatial dimension. A consistent theme emerges in his recent works: large, minimalist compositions, often featuring a single fabric element against a neutral background. These pieces convey stories of culture, history, and the environment through their materials and forms rather than a clear, traditional image.

His creative process begins with conceptualization and detailed sketching, then selecting materials—primarily silk, linen, or voile—and creating custom dye blends using different colored paints or indigo. When stretching the fabric onto the frame, Dung acts more as a connector than a controller, allowing the material to somewhat determine its final form while it dries before being sewn securely onto the frame.

Summarizing his philosophy on copyright, Vu Minh Dung said: "I think I can only control 50% of the process; the rest is up to the work itself."

Vu Minh Dung's artistic practice can be described as site-specific art, stemming from changes in the global art scene of the 1960s, with a focus on non-material and conceptual art.

This practice is also linked to avant-garde art in post-colonial Vietnam. By combining the two, he creates a dialogue between indigenous craft traditions and international art movements. The use of fabric carries cultural significance and becomes a means of exploring movement and memory, emphasizing direct interaction with the material on the work rather than through the brush. Dung connects the dialogue between East and West, where relinquishing control in the creative process symbolizes the flexibility of identity and cultural blending in the context of globalization.

“When I felt homesick, I watched documentaries about Vietnamese history. Once, I read a research paper on the history of the Nguyen Dynasty and Phan Ke Binh's book, 'Vietnamese Customs.' I studied Vietnamese history, read about old family and clan stories, the Chau Van music, and the spiritual chants of the Mother Goddess religion. These research sessions helped me overcome homesickness and no longer feel lost in a strange place.”

During Tet (Vietnamese New Year), I light an incense stick, and as the scent lingers, it's poignant and evokes emotions that remind me of my time in Vietnam. I wonder: How can I break free from the boundaries of what I've been trained in, such as drawing techniques? While I was there, I didn't dare to do anything new. I wondered what method or form of expression to choose, and at that moment, I thought of the past and my childhood with my grandmother. Memories of her, along with the image of her sitting and sewing with a time-worn box of needles and thread, became the starting point for creating a collection of works, considering the meaning of using fabric as a medium, connecting my art to my personal historical roots and cultural identity," said artist Vu Minh Dung.

The exhibition begins outside the gallery with the work Echo from the Lake, created specifically for the exhibition by Dung. Two canvases, stretching from floor to ceiling and mostly covered in orange-dyed fabric, face the glass, creating a multi-layered experience for viewers both inside and outside. This work evokes traditional Vietnamese architecture with its interconnected indoor and outdoor areas and is a modern interpretation of this architectural style. Outdoor light creates shadows on the artwork's surface, shifting the viewer's perception of depth, texture, color, and form. As visitors move from the outside to the inside, the work foreshadows the exhibition's recurring themes of the distinction between object and environment.

The exhibition's centerpieces are Green XXI, Green XXII, and Green XXIII. In each piece, two silk panels are seamlessly joined, the textured green fabric flowing across the canvases, creating a contrast between soft, irregular forms and the rigid structures beneath. These works challenge one-dimensional painting, subtly incorporating elements of traditional silk painting while pushing them into the realm of modern sculpture.

The interaction between fabric and architecture, combined with the continuous installation of the works, creates a unified experience reminiscent of the open layouts in traditional Vietnamese houses. As viewers move along this vast work, their shifting perspectives reflect Dung's exploration of cultural contrasts, not only reflecting his geographical shifts but also the cultural and emotional transformations that come with engaging with diverse traditions and artistic environments.

The exhibition concludes on the second floor, where a minimalist piece dominates the space. Its pristine surface is punctuated by a striking orange strip of fabric diagonally cutting across the composition, creating a powerful visual tension between absence and presence. The work, suspended from the ceiling by wooden supports, hangs in a dialogue with the room's raw industrial aesthetic—exposed air ducts, concrete floors, and white walls blending to frame the piece as both an object and an intervention in the space.

From a distance, Dung's canvases resemble abstract field paintings, but upon closer inspection, they reveal a complex depth where the organic tones and forms reflect both geographical landscapes, history, and memory. His presentation challenges the limits of a one-dimensional painting, combining elements of painting, sculpture, and architecture. Minh Dung Vu not only marks a significant milestone in his career but also contributes to the current discourse on cultural blending in contemporary Vietnamese art, offering insight into the transitional spaces artists navigate between cultures globally.

The "Around the White Road" exhibition is currently running at Gate Gate Gallery until October 16, 2024, 55 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi.

Phuong Thao is an editor at Travellive magazine. She is passionate about traveling and enjoys capturing moments with her camera in every place she visits. Travel, art, and lifestyle are Phuong Thao's favorite writing topics.

Phuong Thao