Galerie Quynh
October 1, 2019
This is Ha’s third solo exhibition at the Galerie Quynh. Consisting of mixed media paintings on canvas, silk, and paper, the work, inspired by the artist’s extensive collection of Vietnamese antiques, evokes the change of the seasons, and the mixture of melancholia and awe experienced when viewing the remains of beautiful ruins. Ha first began collecting antiques in 2002 while he was a student at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, and he has never stopped, filling his light-bathed studio with exquisite lacquer and pearl inlaid woodwork, glazed pottery, and ancient statuary from the antique shops of Hanoi. Ha’s work has always approached traditional Vietnamese craft and culture with a contemporary sensibility and an expressionistic flare. While earlier series followed the visual logic of the architectural blueprint or the landscape, depicting whole buildings and lakes in their entirety, the new work follows the logic of the still life, depicting antique objects in toto, or focusing on particular motifs appearing therein. Most of its work is on canvas, but also on paper and silk allowing light to go through. Ha Manh Thang does not paint just what he sees, but what he feels: bittersweet beauty amidst decay.
Artist talk with Ha Manh Thang
Saturday October 5th from 4.30 to 6 pm
The conference will be in Vietnamese with translation into English.
Landscape Exhibition | Mindscape – Ha Manh Thang
From October 3 to November 2, 2019
Opening on October 3rd from 6.30 pm to 8.30 pm
Location: Galerie Quynh
118 Nguyen Van Thu, Dakao, District 1, Ho Chi Minh City – www.galeriequynh.com