About the Book Launch of “Vietnamese Contemporary Art 1990-2010″

“Vietnamese Contemporary Art 1990-2010” book launch event at Goethe Institute

Authors: Bui Nhu Huong & Pham Trung
With participation of Đinh Q Lê talking about documenta 13
Moderated by Uyên Ly

4 Apr 2013

The lens through which Vietnamese contemporary art is viewed by the world is limited as very few books and catalogues have been published about contemporary art, and even fewer in English.

“Vietnamese Contemporary Art 1990-2010” by Bui Nhu Huong and Pham Trung expands the field of vision by viewing how the 1990’s saw Vietnamese avant garde artists hacking out a clearing from which other artists continue to explore and develop their expression.

Hosted at a book launch event in April by the Goethe Institut, Hanoi’s perpetual platform for motivating discussion and debate to define contemporary art in Vietnam, Bui Nhu Huong and Pham Trung talked about their book which profiles 27 artists and events from the last two decades. Their intention for this volume is to be part of the gradually developing knowledge base of the “achievements and challenges artists have gone through and will be facing the in the future.”

Mr. Chu Hao, director of Knowledge Publishing House, stood to thank the research professionals for this daring and consequential addition to the foundation of a measured collection of books and catalogues of Vietnamese contemporary art. As a collaboration, guided by their open-minded vision, he said more professionals in the art field will contribute to this growing base of knowledge.

Dinh Q Le, founder and curator of San Art in Saigon, a guest speaker at the event, pointed out that many of the artists documented in the book are recognized in the international community. The support, interest and energy in the subject makes this a timely contribution to this new stage in Vietnamese Contemporary art’s development.

Graciously, moderator Truong Uyen Ly handed a microphone over to members of the art community present at the event and invited them to participate in the discussion. Artist Nguyen Manh Hung pointed to the lack of art-related infrastructure in Hanoi, to develop independence, explore collaboration and discussions between art makers, as a motivation for some young artists to move to Saigon, where the view of art continues to broaden through supporting structures for the art scene, arts education and promotion.

Mrs. Nga, founder of Blue Space in Saigon, reminded us of the reality of Vietnam in the 1990’s, pre Internet, when a single fax machine might be shared among several neighbors, and when contemporary art was still a strange concept to artists themselves. With the determination of communities like Blue Space creating the conditions for artists to have access to information about contemporary art practices in the world, and be able to expose and share their work with local audiences helped to open up art practices.

Though intended for the general public this volume, published in English and now Vietnamese, will also be useful to researchers because, as Natasha Kraevskaia put it “gives the face of” a range of contemporary Vietnamese artists from the last two decades. She also added that there is a need for elaboration and depth of critical reflection of contemporary art practices in Vietnam to further their engagement with a broader international art community.

Words by Monique Gross

Read Ilza review about the book.

Prices & distribution

The English edition: 450,000 VND
Vietnamese edition: 360,000 VND.
They are available here:

In Hanoi:
· XUNHAXABA, 32 Hai Ba Trung
· Info Book, 41 Trang Tien
· Thang Long Bookstore, 44 Trang Tien
· Bookstore in the Fine Art Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc

In HCMC: Fine Art Museum, 97 Pho Duc Chinh, D.1

In Hue: New Space Gallery, 28 Pham Ngu Lao