Around the White Road
22 Sep – 16 Oct 2024
Gate Gate Gallery
55 Văn Miếu, Đống Đa, Hà Nội
Registration link
From the organizer:
Minh Dung Vu doesn’t just paint—he orchestrates fabric. His work reflects a tense negotiation between intention and material, where silk, linen, and canvas become collaborators. “Around the White Road” responds to space—both in memory and in the present. Inspired by the stark white space of Bridget Riley’s studio in London, where Dũng once heard the echo of his own breath, and by Gate Gate’s curved wall, the exhibition invites viewers to question the interplay between material and emptiness. The white road becomes a journey of contemplation and reflection. Dũng’s stitched works interact with space, creating pauses and voids that mirror the artist’s process of letting go. Each piece blurs the line between object and environment, demanding close observation of the interaction between texture, color, light, and shadow.
Dũng’s practice is rooted in geographical displacement, memory, and culture. Born in Vietnam, his move to Germany in 2013 sparked a new exploration of the relationship between composition and the fluidity of space. Through cutting, sewing, and manipulating fabric, Dũng establishes a tactile connection to his past. His work doesn’t explicitly depict tradition but offers a new way to engage with it, inviting intimate and unique dialogues with his pieces. The materiality, defined by the permeability and softness of various fabrics, allows Dũng to create forms and spaces that bring his artistic practice to life. Drawing inspiration from culture and history to personal experiences, his work reflects his personal memories and an unexplored family history. Traditional Vietnamese forms like chầu văn, ca trù, and his feelings of homesickness and unfamiliarity living abroad form the foundation of Dũng’s artistic language, shaping his distinctive exploration of fabric.
“Working with the processes of cutting, sewing, and handling large pieces of fabric has inadvertently created random ‘touches’ that wrap around the body, producing a direct interaction with the material – for me, this is a connection, a ‘touch’ that feels closer than using a pen or brush to place on canvas.
Space is formed within space through symbiosis with the artwork.”
Follow updates on event’s page.
