KVT – Do do ‘Do’ at Au Co

After visiting Au Co Gallery again I am even more enamored of its exhibition spaces. They flow; they have interesting and varying heights; they have a couple of intriguing nooks and crannies. They can be really effectively utilized for a huge variety of art types.

It’s about the only gallery that I walk into and immediately start planning a hypothetical exhibition.

I know nothing about the Gallery’s owners, their philosophies or objectives. All I know is that I’m jealous.

Their present exhibition is worthwhile seeing. It presents contemporary paintings on Do (‘Zo’) paper by several recognized Vietnamese artists. As I wandered through the spaces I tried hard to have one favorite artist out of the nine represented but, as it should be in a well curated show, the favored one kept changing. Initially I was impressed with the vibrant street and market scenes by Duong Viet Nam, then Phan Cam Thuong’s earthy toned geometric shapes won out to be replaced by the pastel toned minimalist figurative pieces by Nguyen Van Cuong, especially the ‘Bath Tub’.

I turned a corner and the flowing lines and floating shapes by Ly Truc Son grabbed my attention only to be usurped by Nguyen Xuan Tiep’s really gorgeous snake themed pieces. On a third round the provocative nudes by Nguyen Quan stood out.

A lot of art viewers associate Do paper with a traditional Vietnamese art scene and images. This exhibition is a rather gentle, though stimulating, look at how some good artists have re-invented the medium.

All art lovers should discover Au Co gallery… No1, Lane 124/22… off Au Co St.

A stilted miss

I really wanted to comment on Nguyen Tran Nam’s installation at Nha San Duc, mainly because just about everything exhibited there is good or interesting… and often a bit on the cutting edge of local art practices.

Opening nights at the stilt house are usually so packed that to really appreciate the art is a bit impossible (for me anyway) and for Nam’s opening I had a jazzy appointment at L’Espace that clashed. So I had to try and make it later but, as has happened a couple of times before, the phone number listed to make an appointment on was not being answered… and I only had that day spare. So I decided to roll up on the off chance but there seemed to be no around to make things work… Just my luck.

My apologies Nam… I hear it was lots of fun… sort of my type of thing.