Strata

09:30 am – 06 pm, 10 – 31 Mar 2024
Work Room Four
31/25 Alley 67 Tô Ngọc Vân Str., Quảng An Ward, Tây Hồ district, Hà Nội

From the organizer:

Strata is a pioneering display of a new medium by the prolific Hanoian printer Phạm Khắc Quang. An innovative practitioner in the world of print Quang’s work has consistently pushed past the traditional, and since 2015 his focus has been on the development of novel print processes and has seen him create and design multiple new printing techniques to extend the medium beyond conventional limitation.

Strata is no exception to Quang’s relentless pursuit to originate, this exhibition showcases the medium Quang has been developing since 2020, this new material allows him to step away from the iterative process of printing and image transfer to make the block become the artwork itself.

Created out of desire to utilise his existing expert craftsmanship in woodcarving, inspired by the layers of colour and alignment in printing and also by Vietnamese carved lacquer paintings – which usually consist of a black lacquer surface with the composition carved or engraved. This new medium of multiple layers of painted and bonded fibreboard moves beyond the black of the woodcut print and allows for vivid colour expression to be realised, its flexibility affords smooth marks and strong line works and maintains the striking graphic quality of a woodblock.

Strata is as bold and revolutionary in composition and content as it is in technique. Drawing inspiration from a myriad of reference points; the imagery of Picasso, the decorative forms of Paul Klee, patterning of African tribal art and the floral motifs and mythical creatures from traditional Vietnamese art. Quang creates intense imagery where intricate organic patterning, rounded forms, curves and geometric lines knit together with graphic clarity.

About Phạm Khắc Quang

Born in 1975 in Hải Dương, a province in the Red River Delta of northern Vietnam. Quang graduated with a specialism in graphic art from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2003. Combining his printing practice underpinned by his knowledge as a graphic artist, Quang has perfected his wood-cut printing methods and developed innovative methods and processes allowing him to position the medium in contemporary art practice. He is celebrated as one of the best artisans in his field and has made his mark as a contemporary artist.

His work has been exhibited locally and internationally in a variety of solo shows and group exhibitions including “In Vitra+” – Manzi Art Space, Hanoi – 2019 “Shape of Round” – Goethe-Institut, Hanoi – 2016; “A Present Retrospective” – Work Room Four, Hanoi – 2017; “Printmaking Dialogue” – Vietnam Fine Art Museum ; ‘Printmaking Dialogue’ (2014 group exhibition) at Verviers Art Museum in Belgium; and ‘Breath’ (2013 solo exhibition) at Images Festival in Aarhus and ‘Printmaking Biennale’ (2013 group exhibition) in Guanlan. His artworks are in the collection of the Vietnam Museum of Fine Art.

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