Until the 25th of August 2019.
Interface (‘Giao diện’) at the Factory Contemporary Art Space, Ho Chi Minh City
15 Nguyễn Ư Dĩ, Thảo Điền Ward, District 2, HCMC
www.factoryartscentre.com
The Factory Press Release:
In the work of Oanh Phi Phi, lacquer is a material of not only physical, but also visceral density.
In ‘Interface’ we present two of her major pictorial installations – Specula, an immersive lacquered tunnel akin to stepping in to a glowing womb; and Palimpsest, which personifies tools of producing images (where projections magnifying glass paintings recall the lens structure of a human eye). What is most dazzling about these two ‘paintings as sculptures’ in this exhibition is the suggestion that these artworks are analogous to organs of a body, indeed their ‘shape’, their ‘skin’, their ‘interface’ infers protection, purpose and ultimately, an identity.
Just as a human organ is constantly processing substance, similarly these sculptural installations are also constantly processing its environment. With Specula the viewer is encouraged to tread lightly on its glass floor to get closer to its lacquered shimmering walls and ceiling; while with Palimpsest the viewer may peer closer at the glass ‘microscopic’ slides (glass paintings) that small projectors then magnify large on the adjacent wall.
The art of Oanh Phi Phi is primarily a relationship between sơn mài (lacquer), light and movement. Thus an audience is required, for according to the artist, in order for the artwork to be truly activated, it is the viewer’s presence (thus causing shadows and interruptions with light) that lends a constantly changing reality to the colors that refract from its layered lacquer depths.
Oanh Phi Phi was trained as an oil painter. She fell in awe with lacquer as a student and has, over the past 15 years, developed an internationally acclaimed artistic practice that bemoans the historical and theoretical deferral of ‘lacquer’ to the discipline of painting; while also insisting arguments of lacquer as ‘craft’ are in need of re-assessment.
‘I try to create work that proposes to break apart those categories so eventually, we might be able to say that lacquer is its own genre, that it has something to say about how images are formed and thus has grounds to exist beyond current debated discipline. I relate to lacquer as a medium of ‘newness’, a material with deep haptic qualities, in synergy with the contemporary digital world of multiple dimension and sensorial light refractions’.
Whilst critically respectful of the history of lacquer, which remains a celebrated national art form in Vietnam today, Oanh Phi Phi seeks to challenge the assumption of form, capacity and definition of this medium, preferring to argue its immersive (as opposed to optical /decorative) powers.
‘Interface’ is the artist’s first solo show in Ho Chi Minh City. This exhibition will be on view until 21 July, 2019.
Nhân dịp triển lãm ‘Giao diện’ (Interface) của tôi tại Factory Saigon, hai cuộc phỏng vấn:
Conversations program
I will also be participating in the Art Basel Hong Kong Conversations program on Saturday, March 30 from 5:00-6:30pm “Telling Stories, Narrative Forms and Strategies” in the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre Auditorium on level 1, Room N101B
Please see the link for more information:
https://www.artbasel.com/events/detail/8615/Telling-Stories-Narrative-Forms-and-Strategies?fbclid=IwAR2xNKSfvU1I5TUeFSajKfCylEozp3LIRkHKIfiOxsUalAcH1ZzeSEHu8Qs
Fost Gallery at Art Basel Hong Kong 2019
I will be showing work at Art Basel Hong Kong this year. Please come by Fost Gallery (booth 3C35) in the Insights Gallery area. Hope to see you!
Private View will take place on Wednesday and Thursday, March 27–28, 2019, and the show will open to the public from Friday to Sunday, March 29–31, 2019
A group show at AgoHub Hanoi
Into Thin Air 2
Thank you, Manzi Art Space Hanoi, for allowing me to participate in this wonderful augmented reality public project. The launch was yesterday afternoon. From now, you can enjoy the project anytime throughout Hanoi by just downloading the app from https://play.google.com/store/apps/details…. Then at your leisure follow the map to visit the sites where ten artists have chosen to create virtual interventions. My work is located in Hom Market. Please join us!
Pro Se works in group exhibition at Silverlens Gallery, Manila
Artist talk at the Factory Saigon
ENAMOURED BY LACQUER – A CONVERSATION WITH ARTIST OANH PHI PHI
Speakers: Oanh Phi Phi and Zoe Butt
Date: 05 September 2018
Time: 6.30 – 8.30pm
The Factory is looking forward to hosting Oanh Phi Phi’s first solo show in Saigon next year, where we will see her artworks (sculptures, paintings and installation) in person, at this event however, we will hear how Oanh Phi Phi came upon the art of lacquer, why she became enamored by this medium, and to what extent the history of its use has influenced her artistic practice. This conversation will be in dialog with Zoe Butt, Artistic Director of The Factory.
Come and view the lacquer works by contemporary artists Lê Thừa Tiến, Nguyễn Trần Nam and Vũ Đức Trung in our Galleria! (on view from 29 August).
This event will occur in English, with Vietnamese translation.
Palimpsest at NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore
The latest edition of my work Palimpsest will be part the exhibition “Trees of Life – Knowledge in Material” at the NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore.
21 July 2018 — 30 September 2018
Opening Reception: Friday, 20 July 2018, 7.00–9.00pm
NTU Centre for Contemporary Art Singapore is embarking on an inquiry into natural materials, exploring the knowledge they embody as biological forms as well as within social, geopolitical, and historical contexts. Trees of Life – Knowledge in Material is part of the Centre’s long-term research cluster CLIMATES. HABITATS. ENVIRONMENTS.
This exhibition focuses on materials from four plants deeply rooted in Asia: indigo (Indigofera tinctoria), lacquer (Rhus succedanea and Melanorrhoea usitata), rattan (Calamoideae), and mulberry(Morus). The works trace the ongoing involvement with these plants in the artistic practices of Manish Nai (India) with indigo, Phi Phi Oanh (United States/Vietnam) with lacquer, Sopheap Pich(Cambodia) with rattan, and Liang Shaoji (China) and Vivian Xu (China) with mulberry silk.
In the media
Thank you for for the mention in SC magazine, Singapore, Spring/Summer 2018 issue!
In the Media
Featured in Transit Magazine, Japan. Published 18 December 2017.
Kaohsiung Art Fair, Taiwan
A small series of my work, A Day in the Life, will be featured in the Vietnam Platform of the art fair. This platform is organized by Vin Gallery, HCMC and curated by Richard Streitmatter-Tran.
Single image from series A Day in the Life. Son ta Lacquer on wood board, Hanoi 2017.
ART KAOHSIUNG This year’s edition, Vietnam and China are the theme countries within which a dialogue between the cultures and art forms will be held. To deepen the link between the theme countries and the academic, Art Kaohsiung Forum will cooperate with significant academic units, art media, prominent curators and galleries of the theme countries.
【 2017 ART KAOHSIUNG 藝 術 怎 麼 談 — 藝術產學論壇】
秉持著對藝術教育及推廣的理念，高雄藝術博覽會每年皆用心舉辦藝術產學論壇，邀請海內外重要藝術界人士與會，以期達到『東南亞與東北亞藝術橋樑』之目標。今年為呼應策展主題國－中國、越南，論壇特別邀請到兩國產學界代表擔任主講。
中國講座將由資深策展人 胡永芬主持，聚焦於中國藝術家之生產地－湖北，並由中國美術史家暨武漢合美術館館長－魯虹 與湖北美術學院－袁曉舫教授 領銜主講，帶領大家細究湖北當代藝術之發展脈絡。
越南講座亦將邀請胡志明市重要畫廊Vin Gallery負責人 －Shyevin s'ng 及 獨立策展人Richard Streimatter-Tran，討論越南當代藝術中，物質相互依存之關聯性。另外更特別邀請諸位越南學界重要代表，探討當地之現當代藝術發展。
☛詳細資訊及論壇排程請參見活動頁面
Sudarium in Shanghai
My work, Sudarium (image below), will be part of the group exhibition Rekindling Lacquer: Vietnamese Modern Painting in Shanghai Collections at China Art Museum, Shanghai.
This exhibition runs from December 1, 2017- March 31, 2018.
Sudarium, triptych, Son ta lacquer on wood, 2017. Photo courtesy of Fost Gallery.
In the Media
My first time on a list...Five Emerging Asian Artists to Watch by Naomi Stock
Please click https://artrepreneur.com/asian-artists/
Artist talk at the VCCA with Sandrine Llouquet
Artist talk at the National Gallery Singapore
Vietnamese Lacquer Painting, traditions and transformation
Lecture Programme Details
15 Jul 2017
03:00 PM - 04:00 PM
Supreme Court Wing, Level 5, Glass Room
This talk is planned in conjunction with the exhibition Radiant Material: A Dialogue in Vietnamese Lacquer Painting. For more information on the National Gallery page please click.
Artist Walk through at Fost Gallery
I will also be doing an artist walk-through of the Make Shift exhibition at Fost Gallery on Sunday 16 July 2017, 3-4 pm.
in the media
Make Shift, at Fost Gallery Singapore
Make Shift solo exhibition runs from 24 June - 27 August 2017
Opening Reception: Saturday, 24 June 2017, 3 – 6 pm
Artist’s Walk-Through: Sunday, 16 July 2017, 3 – 4 pm
For more information please click http://www.fostgallery.com/make-shift/
Photo courtesy of Fost Gallery