Artist of "trash" pieces
Nguyen Quoc Dan was born in 1984, currently lives and works in Hoi An - Da Nang. He graduated from Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts in 2009 and since then has quietly built a unique creative path, shaped by the spirit of regeneration - not only in terms of material but also in terms of thinking, aesthetics and artistic philosophy.
Unlike most visual artists who pursue visual language using traditional materials, Nguyen Quoc Dan finds inspiration from discarded things: electric wires, waste plastic, old mannequins, broken electronic components, scraps from the fashion industry... Materials that have gone through their life cycle and were thought to be only worth as trash, have now become the main material in his art world.
For Nguyen Quoc Dan, scrap is not something to be thrown away but “fertile ground” to replant emotions, imaginations and human values in an era of material overload and disconnection.
“These works urge us to look back, not only to recognize the discarded things but to see in them a life full of resistance. A heartbeat under the plastic layer” - Curator Do Tuong Linh commented.
Exhibition of recycled materials
A fantasy world called Materia RetanaThe exhibition “Materia Retana - Materia Retana” at VCCA is a great crystallization of Nguyen Quoc Dan’s artistic journey, gathering more than 50 sculptures and installations made entirely from recycled materials. The exhibition space is like a fantasy world, where strange creatures appear, both familiar and strange, both close and surreal. These are works with strange shapes, bright colors, and amorphous shapes - reminiscent of prehistoric creatures, mutant animals, and even alien species.
The exhibition consists of two interwoven lines of works.
The first line uses weathered plastic - a material washed from the sea or buried deep in the ground, bearing the traces of time and the environment. The pieces of plastic, eroded and deformed over the years, are "assembled" into strange creatures, as if evolving into new life forms after humans have abandoned them.
Works on display at the exhibition
The second line uses waste from the fashion industry, with materials such as scraps of fabric, old mannequins, and dye chemicals taking on a different, topical tone about the waste of the consumer industry and its far-reaching ecological impact.
The combination of skillful technique, aesthetic emotion and the story behind each material makes the works become “living relics” - a part of the memory of the era, and at the same time a symbol of the ability to revive.
Works of Nguyen Quoc Dan
Afro-Cubism - A personal creative language
Artist Nguyen Quoc Dan calls his style Anti-Cubism - a direct response to the tradition of geometry and logical structure in modern art. Instead of using clear, balanced shapes like the classical Cubism school, he creates unstructured, irregular and nameless shapes - just like the materials he uses: heterogeneous, uncontrollable, and following no rules except their own life cycle.
For Dan, each piece of scrap has its own unique characteristics: a color, a history, a chemical and mechanical state that cannot be replicated. Combining these materials is like assembling the genetic code of a strange organism - where humans no longer play the role of controller, but become listeners, empathizers and co-creators.
Materials like assembling genetic codes
It is this “loosening of control” that has opened up space for a new form of visual art, not only beautiful but also full of life, humanity, and contemplation.
Not only does the exhibition space “Materia Retana” extend the art experience to the community through art education activities, discussions, and recycling experience workshops for the public. This is an effort to bring art out of the gallery, to become a part of life - where viewers come not only to “look”, but also to “act”.
Through this, the exhibition aims to change perceptions and behaviors, not only about waste or the environment, but also about how we evaluate value: What is old? What is new? What is worth keeping? And can “beauty” emerge from things that are ugly, dirty and no longer of use?
Nguyen Quoc Dan does not directly answer those questions. Instead, he presents a series of images, shapes, colors and visual experiences for viewers to feel for themselves. He does not condemn anyone, does not criticize the system, nor does he call for great actions, he just gently shows that from trash can also sprout.
In an era where the Earth is becoming increasingly overburdened by consumption and production, recycled art is not just a genre, but a silent yet powerful statement. It does not require people to do anything big, but reminds us not to underestimate the small things. An old piece of wire, a broken piece of plastic thrown away can also become art if viewed with empathy and the hands of the creator.
“Nothing is really thrown away, it’s just that we haven’t seen its new value yet”, perhaps that is the message that Nguyen Quoc Dan wants to convey. And in today’s multi-form art world, he has chosen his own path: quiet, persistent, but full of vitality. The path of rebirth.
The exhibition “Materia Retana” is open from 10:00 - 21:00 every day, from July 5, 2025 to September 7, 2025 at Vincom Center for Contemporary Art (VCCA), B1-R3 Vincom Mega Mall Royal City, 72A Nguyen Trai, Thanh Xuan District, Hanoi.
