CUC Gallery is pleased to present a group exhibition “Sense of belonging” of three Vietnamese contemporary artists at S.E.A Focus: A Spotlight on Southeast Asia.
“Sense of belonging” refers to a basic human need, equally to the need of food and shelter. It shapes the identity formations and perceptions. When the economic reforms “Doi moi” initiated in Vietnam in 1986, the former value, behaviors, code of ethics system have dramatically changed. These changes strongly influenced people’s perceptions. mindset, interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships, and value systems. The question of “we” as a whole and “I” as a part, where to belong and to atttact, are so tricky and difficult to address, compared to the past. All the presented artworks attemp to raise a question as to where the sense of belonging comes from.
Nguyen Trung (b.1940) is sometimes referred to as the Father of Vietnamese abstract art, a founding member of Young Artists Association, a vanguard art group in Saigon established in 1966 and remained active until the momentous political transformations in 1975. He is the most respected and senior artist of Vietnam, turning abstract art into historical importance. His works now can be seen in many private and public collections such as Vietnam National Fine Art Museum (Vietnam), Hochiminh Fine Art Museum (Vietnam), Singapore Art Museum (Singapore), Museo Biblioteca Archivio (Italy), United Overseas Bank (Singapore), etc.
Tulip Duong (b.1959) was born and raised in a very traditional family, have seen the remnants of the war inflicting on Vietnam, went through the Đổi Mới period (1986, the economic reform policy leading to Vietnam’s ‘socialist-led market economy), and witnessed the shifts of her own country under globalizations. Tulip Duong’s art practice was given a strong boost when the Museum of Ethnography in Hanoi organised her first solo exhibition in 2005. Tulip Duong proclaimed, “there is no limit for everything in art!”. (Essence, Kwok Kian Chow).
Do Hoang Tuong (b. 1960) from Quang Nam, moved to Saigon in 1970. Tuong is one of the most prominent contemporary figurative artist of Vietnam. He attended Saigon College of Fine Art in 1976 and then Hochiminh University of Fine Art in 1979. One of his most important and well received exhibitions was in 1988, becoming his stepping stone of his art career. In 1988 and 1989, following his senior artist Nguyen Trung, Tuong was inspired by nouveau art and participated in the young artists group. This marks the very exciting period of Vietnamese art history. In 2017, Tuong participated in group exhibition "Vietnam in Venice" with other 4 fellow artists in Venezia, Italy during the Venice Biennale 2017. In 2018, Tuong is selected to represent Vietnam in the Philippines’s exhibition Ties of history: Art in Southeast Asia to conclude the commemoration of ASEAN 50th anniversary.
The exhibition will open to the public from 24 to 27 January, 2019 as a part of S.E.A Focus: A Spotlight on Southeast Asia at Gillman Barracks, Singapore.