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The exhibition "Under the Tree, Faintly Appearing" by painter Vu Trung and artist Nguyen Tra Mi, curated by Nam Nguyen, offers the public the opportunity to appreciate the blend and connection between traditional and contemporary art.
Wandering through forests or vast, natural landscapes, spaces of symbiosis gradually reveal themselves. When we think of the word "root," it evokes associations with: tree roots, the origin of a problem, hair follicles, or the very roots of oneself... Each word points to a depth, half-submerged or hidden, often evading immediate awareness.
“Under the Roots, Faintly Appearing” is an exhibition by Vu Trung and Nguyen Tra Mi curated by Nam Nguyen.
However, paradoxically, these hidden aspects become the beginning, the expansion, the fall, and the completion of everything. When can the root be recognized, discovered, or felt? Where are we when we realize we are at the root?
Commenting on the artist Vu Trung, curator Nam Nguyen stated that Vu Trung's artistic journey leads him to abstraction, vagueness, and a somewhat dry, distant quality, far removed from realistic depictions. Vu Trung seeks in nature and the natural world eternal subjects to incorporate into his lacquer paintings. His works preserve the essence and reveal the energy of nature radiating into its surroundings.
The exhibition offers the public a blend and connection between traditional and contemporary art.
"Using lacquer techniques, artist Vu Trung's paintings define and freeze the time of the landscape. They are carved and roughened, but only enough details are left, not revealing the essence of nature, but depicting the moment when elements of nature blend together, shine, exchange chemical energy, and evolve. These elements seem to be undergoing the test of time, the fluidity of flow, and oxidation processes. They come together and create fascinating visual stories. Vu Trung's works seem to open up a microscopic perspective, penetrating the superficial appearance of nature," curator Nam Nguyen said.
Some works by Nguyen Tra Mi
The works of Nguyen Tra Mi and Vu Trung, seemingly at opposite extremes, create fascinating dialogues between tradition and the individual artistic styles of two generations of artists. These dialogues offer us a different context, encouraging us to observe and understand not only what traditional art is but also to broaden its meaning to the contemporary context, where these forms are gradually fading in the modern art scene.
Regarding artist Nguyen Tra Mi, curator Nam Nguyen stated: "Leaving the physical realm, Nguyen Tra Mi seeks the 'roots' within herself. Born and raised in two different worlds, she experiences Vietnamese identity through the overseas community. For Tra Mi, her homeland is something always close yet very distant. When pottery becomes her artistic language, she gradually creates works that recreate the vague images in her memory of Vietnam. The imagery and colors linger from her last visit to her family as a child. Small, detailed objects, now distorted, are molded into blocks, heated, then covered and compressed together. Everyday objects like cups and arrows, often overlooked, seem to find a familiar place in her mind."
Artist Vu Trung (born 1981, Hanoi) graduated from the Vietnam Fine Arts University (Master's degree in traditional lacquer painting). Throughout his career, Vu Trung has explored and experimented with traditional lacquer techniques to create fictional landscapes, based on his observations and the range of emotions that life around him brings him.
For him, the connection between the artist and the medium should be a two-way dialogue. He chooses to respect the natural essence of the material by listening to and adapting to it, rather than trying to control or dominate it. Some of Trung's notable exhibitions include: Vu Trung: Lacquer is Lacquer - 2018; The Silence of Angels - 2017; AIA Vietnam Eye - 2016; One Hundred Years Later - 2015; Realm of Fantasy - 2014.
Vũ Trung's works seem to offer a microscopic perspective, penetrating beyond the superficial appearance of nature.
About artist Nguyen Tra Mi (1994): Tra Mi is a German-Vietnamese artist currently living and working in Germany. Tra Mi felt a deep connection with ceramics in 2015, when she began her ceramics apprenticeship at the Landshut Ceramics School. She soon pursued further studies at Landshut, where she was trained to become a ceramic artist. Currently, Tra Mi is studying sculptural art/ceramics at the Burg Giebichenstein University of Art and Design. Tra Mi's artistic practice is a dynamic exploration through diverse forms of expression such as sketching, printing techniques, and ceramics. She often collects and reconstructs familiar objects from her memory and enjoys discovering different possibilities in each creative process, from throwing, sculpting, modeling, to surface treatment and finishing.
Some notable exhibitions that Tra Mi has participated in include: Tobias Wachter's collection exhibition "Mimimi!", Gallery Irrgang, Leipzig; Feste Luft, Pop Up Science, Dresden; Notes from Home, Tiff, Leipzig; Al2O3 2SiO2 2H2O.
The exhibition "Under the Tree, Faintly Appearing" by Vu Trung and Nguyen Tra Mi will take place from December 10, 2023 to February 4, 2024 at Gate Gate Gallery, 55 Van Mieu Street, Dong Da District, Hanoi.
Visitors come to see the exhibition.
