Murmure à l’intersection

09 am – 02 pm & 05 pm – 09 pm, 24 Nov – 31 Dec 2024
MANI Gallery
46 Tây Hồ, Quảng An, Tây Hồ, Hà Nội

From the organizer:

Have you ever been walking down a street and been startled by a leaf falling onto your shoulder, like the gentle touch of someone’s hand? Have you ever, in quiet solitude, strolled by a river and heard the wind whispering, telling little stories? These fleeting moments, these soft whispers, whether born from loneliness or the unfamiliarity of a new space, serve as a profound inspiration for the art of Jeffrey Wandly and Võ Trọng Hồng.

Both architects by training, with years spent living, working, and falling in love with the cultures of both Vietnam and France, the two artists – Jeffrey Wandly (Singapore) and Võ Trọng Hồng (Vietnam) – have poured their passion and affection into the homes and architecture of these lands. In an interview, Jeffrey Wandly once shared: “I love everything about a building, from the concept and construction, to every screw and bolt, to the way each part of the building comes together…” For this reason, the homes of Vietnam, especially in Hanoi, appear in Jeffrey’s paintings as living testaments to history, culture, and a timeless heritage that is cherished and preserved.

Võ Trọng Hồng’s deep love for architecture also shines brightly through his work, especially in his depictions of streets, bridges, and squares from his time living and studying in France. Unpretentious and unassuming, yet in some natural way, the cobblestone paths along riverbanks, the quiet corners of old streets nestled beside ancient houses, come alive in Hồng’s paintings with a dreamy, tender resonance. For him, the years spent away from home were not only an opportunity to explore the world, but also a time for reflection – a time to look back, and feel a rush of emotions upon returning to his homeland. While Hồng paints romantic, timeless France through the eyes of an outsider, a wanderer, he paints Vietnam, his homeland, with a heart full of warmth, tenderness, and deep emotion.

Two architects from two different generations, two distinct cultures, living in lands that are not their own – their love, their wonder, their longing, and their bittersweet nostalgia all come together. These layers of emotion merge in every brushstroke, in the quiet murmurs rising from their paintings, in the distant colors that drift along long streets, stretching across mountain ranges, meeting at the “whispers at the intersection…”

With the exhibition “Murmure à l’intersection”, the MANI Foundation is proud to present a collection of paintings by Jeffrey Wandly (Singapore) and Võ Trọng Hồng (Vietnam) that spans the streets and landscapes from Vietnam to France, and back again. These works hold immense personal meaning for the artists themselves and offer us a window into their thoughts and emotions as they journeyed – not just to travel, but to “return home.”