Strata of Memory
09 AM – 05 PM, Tues – Sun, 24 July – 23 Aug 2026
Quang San Art Museum
189B/3 Nguyễn Văn Hưởng, An Khánh ward, HCMC
From the organizer:
Quang San Art Museum is pleased to present Strata of Memory, a duo exhibition by Vũ Đức Hiếu (Hiếu Mường) and Chu Viết Cường, bringing together 29 ceramic and lacquer works. Though guided by different creative impulses, both artists approach art as a process of excavating the strata of memory that lie beneath the surfaces of material and culture.
Hiếu Mường explores cultural memory through both ceramics and lacquer, drawing upon Mường culture, Vietnam’s ethnic minority communities, human imagery, and immersive fieldwork. Meanwhile, Chu Viết Cường employs lacquer to explore the ambiguous territories of personal memory and the contemplative cultural landscapes of Northern Vietnam, where time, memory, and material gradually settle into one another. Though distinct in their artistic practices, both artists converge at a shared point where material is no longer merely a medium of expression, but becomes a repository of memory.
Bringing together ceramics and lacquer, Strata of Memory invites viewers to look beyond the visible surface of each work, where earth, lacquer, time, and memory no longer exist as separate elements, but together form a spiritual structure, transforming each work from a mere aesthetic object into a vessel carrying both individual and collective memories.
