BOOKWORM’s art space final curtain call

Bookworm

The BOOKWORM’s art space final curtain call…

…before it becomes a fossilized memory. This is an on going, changeable exhibition until time runs out on 30 June.

(The Bookworm is another victim of spiraling real estate prices – the rent went up too high too fast. A big loss for Hanoi, unless they can find a place to relocate.)

Bookworm
till 30 June

Vuong Thao – Fossils Vivant
Dung – series based on floor tiles

In the past six months THREE arts events that really made me gasp in wonder were

• Vuong Thao’s installation Fossils Vivant at L’Espace,
• the sound and video performance Fire and Ice/Lua Bang by Brian Ring and Vu Nhat Tan at the British Council,
• and the Fritz Lang film Destiny with original music score by Pierre Oser at the Hanoi Opera House courtesy of the Goethe Institute.

72 of Thao’s fossil sculptures of buildings in the old quarter of Hanoi (preserved in Plexiglas cubes) have been curated by Natalia Kraevskaia (Natasha) to be part of the Vietnam Festival and the Post Doi Moi Symposium at the Singapore National Art Gallery this month. The first conceptual pieces were exhibited at the Museum of Fine Arts in Hanoi in 2006 and then 80 pieces representing at least one building from every street in the old quarter were stunningly exhibited at L’Espace. To celebrate the closing of the Bookworm�s non profit art space Thao has allowed us to install a selection of his fossils, and three new oil paintings that relate to his living fossils, in our gallery until the end of June. All are for sale.

During May in the bookshop we will continue to promote the work of emerging artists with the animalia paintings of Dung (Zung). Dung is a young. untrained artist from a small farming village in Ha Tay Province. His first exposure to contemporary art was seeing Thao’s fossils at L’Espace. He decided to start a series based on floor tiles in old houses so we provided him with paint and canvas and told him to have fun. The impressive results are just that. With patronage, Dung will zoom.