Hue Festival – Studio Tho – Calligraphy

Studio Tho (in Hue)
03-11 June

The Zen’ei Gang of Five
Avant-garde Calligraphy

Exhibition showing 32 silk mounted hanging scrolls with works by the Zen’ei Gang of Five and presented at the Festival by Thomas Ulbrich.

What does zen’ei Calligraphy mean in Vietnam in 2008? It is certainly a great surprise to witness the emergence of a modern calligraphy scene, using the Japanese term “zen’ei” as their motto, in a country that long ago decided to abandon the Chinese writing system and replace it by European letters. This experimental calligraphy looks like a statement of detachment from the mainstreams of contemporary Asian art trends, and perhaps a statement of criticism towards an internationalization in gallery art that just follows mainstream fashion developments in the West or other boom regions of contemporary art, like China or India. It is a promising sign to see that Zen’ei Gang of Five has come up with an art style of her own that is far from following fashionable trends in the major centres of contemporary Asian art.

Stephan von der Schulenburg, Museum for Applied Arts, Frankfurt

Please visit the exhibition in HUE at 5 Pho Hanoi.
Open from 9 am to 7 pm.
Daily calligraphic demonstrations.
Works available for sale.