KVT – A Summer Steel

At last! An exhibition that made my blood race faster!

It will have to go down as one of the best arty things this first half of the year in Hanoi. Funny thing, though, sculpture and sculptural installations have dominated the best of what’s been on offer for a large part of 2011.

Artist Luong Viet states that Richard Serra has been a great influence on his work with steel and as I’m a bit of a Serra freak and go gaga (nothing to do with a certain flambouyant lady entertainer) whenever I meet one of his sculptures, this opinion piece may well be considered a bit biased.

Viet’s new sculptural works that were on display in his workshop studio last week were all pretty amazing. The two large pieces are pretty breathtaking and the deep red on some planes are stunning. I can imagine them in all sorts of settings and locations. They appear to be totally user friendly and well worth the approx $20,000 price tags.

Some of Viet’s smaller works are almost begging to be Serra-sized. As nice as they are in present form – and I wish I had a place that would be able accommodate one or two – they’d also make fabulous statements super-sized in public places (and Hanoi could do with a few quality contemporary art statements). Most are sculptural works that have the all-important intriguing factor attached to them and most insist that you dialogue with them.

I really liked the fact that as Viet’s exhibition is in a workshop studio, you can also see the maquettes or scale models that are on display, as background interest. As is often the case with sculptural work, these little models are a delight and are eminently collectable. For people on budgets or with small display areas, you couldn’t go wrong. In a couple of instances the models will be sold as companion pieces with their larger siblings.

Viet has a wonderful way of marrying wood with a variety of metals and one section of the workshop has a wonderful collection of these. They are all small and I guess exist as sculptural works in their own right or as maquettes for later visionary sculptures. One, of course, is on display in the main body of work.

A lot of conceptual artists’ workshops are full of the old, the new, the discarded, and lots of junk that may be of use at some time. Viet’s is no exception and it’s of particular interest to see samples of his earlier work when Serra was obviously not the major inspiration. I used to sort of like the old when I saw them around the art scene traps but I am much more entranced with his new direction. I’m still a bit breathless with it all – and being breathless has got almost nothing nothing to do with the fact that I rode my Xe Dap from the city center to Viet’s studio in the shadow of Thang Long bridge on a breathlessly clammy late afternoon.

Even if you’re not into excellent sculpture, you’ll be impressed with the locale of Viet’s studio. As you go along Dong Ngac you’ll come across several village gateways heading down parallel streets. It’s a more than delicious experience to go up and down them (they all T-junction at a delightful roadway full of interesting bits so it’s easy to zig-zag your way along). But its’s the peacefulness and quaintness of the village laneways that impresses you. They’re so close to the roaring bridge that you are startled by the yen tinh that envelopes you. Exploring this bit of Hanoi (plus its neighboring villages) by bicycle or motorbike is like opening a treasure chest of memorable images.

Tomorrow I’m escaping Hanoi summer for a couple of months and I’m sure glad that my last memory of the local art scene was a totally memorable one.