wood block prints

“Touchpoints” by Tran Cong Dung

Opening: Fri 03 Apr, 6.30-10.30pm

A “one night only” exhibition by Tran Cong Dung

[ U P D A T E ] Seems the exhibition was never intended to be for one night. It runs for a month. Drop in and take a look.

Five restaurant
5 Hang Be
Hanoi

Tran Cong Dung specialises in wood block prints. Discover his art whilst enjoying free drinks and nibbles at Five restaurant.

A few words from the host:

The relationship Tran Cong Dung has with his art is overwhelming. His introversion, complexity and simplicity can be seen in his most powerful series of work. I have been fortunate to live with these prints the past 4 months and thus have spent much time with them. The art I am referring to here are the images of the bicycle and the many forms it manifests in. Particularly here, I speak of his largest prints and one specific image that finds itself in a number of works. These symbols and images have become a way for him to identify himself, as well as a medium in which to understand the modern world we are living in. Further, as Dung often says, the bicycle is something everyone can relate to, particularly in Vietnam. He aims to produce work that all types of people can see and have voice about. The work is meant to open up silence. Moreover, his choice to use wood carving, printing on rice paper and typically work with only black and white reflect this reserved self, traditional motifs and polarities that thread through his art. He uses space and conceals items with a sensitivity that is rarely seen in art of any kind, let alone woodblock prints. In a final analysis, Tran Cong Dung’s work forces one to think, it forces one to deal with the power of images that are familiar (possibly disappearing) in Vietnam, and it urges us to question our positions to the development that covers Vietnam today. I hope you all enjoy the opportunity to see a number of unique works all in one space together.