Group Exhibition “Destination II”

Opening: Wed 22 Jan, 5 – 8 pm
Exhibition: 22 – 26 Jan 2014
Art talk: Sun 26 Jan, 2 pm
Vietnam Fine Arts Museum
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Workshop: 23 and 24 Jan 2014
Department of Arts, Hanoi National University of Education

From the organizer:

Destination I, organized two years ago at the same place, included 7 painters from Malaysia and Vietnam and only paintings. Therefore, Destination II can be seen as a next successful step with participation from 3 U.S.artists as well as with two more fields of visual arts: fine art photography and installation art.

* The exhibition is the second result of the co-operation between Vietnamese and foreign artists and a Vietnamese art dealer/curator for the organization of a series of international art exchanges between Vietnamese artists and their audience and colleagues at home and abroad.

* It is the first time that fine art photographs will be exhibited in Asia that are abstract expressions derived from the glass creations of Louis Comfort Tiffany, American’s best known art glass designer.

* The exhibition, themed Inner Freedom, includes 38 new art works of 3 American and Malaysian fine art photographer/artists and 7 painters from the US, Malaysia and Vietnam.

Fine art photography has been very new to Vietnamese photographers and audience. And in the exhibit, they can have interesting references from 14 of the art works from Malaysia and the U.S. Atiqah Yusof (Malaysia) selects dry trees as her main subject. She took photos of them in different places, using certain digital interference for new visual effect, sharing her own messages on the death and the revival of the Nature. It is the first time that John D’Agostino from the U.S. brings to Hanoi his photograph creations based on Tiffany’s well known glass work. His unique interpretations suggest different aesthetic feelings and metaphors beyond the utilitarian appearance and utility of the original glass work. such as contemporary art works on the historical background. Also from the U.S. Larry D’Attilio has been inspired by Vietnamese women’s vitality. He empathizes with their thoughtfulness, strength, romance, happiness and self-confidence and expesses the emotional tensions of each women through abstracted constructed photographic design.

The theme Inner Freedom is a fulcrum for the curator to work with artists in selecting art works or creating completely new ones, in the case of painter Ngo Hai Yen (Vietnam). It is very interesting that most of the art works in the exhibition reference portraits of people in some degree. Multi-faced portraits by Brant Kingman (the U.S.), obsessional eyes by Dang Tu Thu (Vietnam), mask-like portraits dimmed in context by Yusof Ghani (Malaysia), many faces happy or sad with living days by Ngo Van Sac (Vietnam), all bring to the audience core inner moments. Coming to the great sympathy with the life, one can be find one’s own inner freedom. More over, art works can share and inspire the public to a world of freedom in one’s spirit. This is always in minds and hearts of artists participating in the exhibition even though they understand well it is never an easy goal.

The exhibition is sponsored and supported by the Department of Arts – the Hanoi National University of Education, all participating artists, Greater Milwaukee Foundation’s Mary L. Nohl Suitcase Fund, Mr Tom Linzmeier, and an American Donor through Fractured Atlas.

Further information on the exhibition and related activities is available at: www.art-tngs.com

On the exhibition organizer: Nguyen Tam (born in 1978) has been working in the art market for many years. She works as art representative for a number of artists in Hanoi. She wishes to contribute to building up the art market for the strongest avant – garde work in Vietnam. She does business in art in co-operation with a number of art galleries, and local and foreign art collectors in the USA, Belgium, Germany and other countries.