Gang of Five displays art works

Hanoi (VNA) - Contemporary works and archival materials by the Gang of Five, a group of the country’s top artists, are being displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi.

The group, including painters Hong Viet Dung, Ha Tri Hieu, Dang Xuan Hoa, Tran Luong and Pham Quang Vinh, hold an esteemed position in the history of fine art in Vietnam’s post-doi moi (renewal) era. They emerged in the early 80’s as Vietnam was struggling to rebuild after decades of war.

The exhibition, jointly held by the Art Vietnam Salon Gallery and the Japan Foundation Asia Centre, is being curated by Le Thuan Uyen and is designed to celebrate their achievements and honour their place in Vietnamese art history. The exhibition is being held at the Vietnam Feature Film Studio. 

It also includes a collection of archival materials highlighting their aesthetic development and the unique environment in which they created, said Suzanne Lecht, Director of the Art Vietnam Salon Gallery, where the original copies of archival materials owned by collectors worldwide will be displayed. 

The exhibition will be accompanied by weekly curatorial tours that will take visitors through the exhibition venue, to Art Vietnam Salon Gallery and to the artists’ studios.

[Artists paint two different worlds]

The tour schedules will be announced in the coming days and those wishing to attend must sign up by sending an email to info@artvietnamgallery.com.

A catalog of the exhibition sponsored by the Hanoi Goethe Institute and ThingsAsian Press Hong Kong will be available by the end of the year.

“Known for creating bold, distinctive works, depicting personal conceptions that departed from the socialist realist imposition of the previous generation of artists, they began to gain attention and started exhibiting abroad in the early 90’s,” said Lecht.

Their first joint exhibition was in 1990, and they adopted the name Gang of Five in a 1993 exhibition.

Invitations to exhibit abroad in Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and in New York quickly followed as the world recognised the emergence of a culture previously hidden from world view.

The exhibition will run until November 19 at the Vietnam Feature Film Studio, 4 Thuỵ Khue street, Hanoi. The Art Vietnam Salon Gallery is located at 2, Alley 66, Yen Lac street.-VNA