NGUCHONOBAY, an exhibition curated by and featuring new artworks from members and friends of Ho Chi Minh City’s Sao La collective.
One of the most dynamic groups currently operating in the art and culture scene of Vietnam, Sao La – started as the non-profit educational initiative of Galerie Quynh – represents something of a melting pot of underground creative currents. Cù Rú, their shared studio space (located on the top floor of an old quaint Vietnamese apartment building and doubling as a bar in the evening), is the site of regular multi-disciplinary happenings across scenes and tribes.
One of the most dynamic groups currently operating in the art and culture scene of Vietnam, Sao La – started as the non-profit educational initiative of Galerie Quynh – represents something of a melting pot of underground creative currents. Cù Rú, their shared studio space (located on the top floor of an old quaint Vietnamese apartment building and doubling as a bar in the evening), is the site of regular multi-disciplinary happenings across scenes and tribes.
Following a string of film screenings, concerts and parties at Cù Rú, as well as curated exhibitions and two art walks at other alternative HCMC venues, NGUCHONOBAY marks an unprecedented Sao La take-over of Galerie Quynh.
Much as it is whimsical and borderline English-untranslatable, the exhibition title succinctly captures the Sao La spirit and summarizes what is in store. A feverish mix of energy, spontaneity and no small doses of humour permeate a selection of paintings, sculptures, installations and sound works from eleven HCMC-based artists. Diverse as they are in realization and subject matter, the works share in their attempts at interacting with and transforming the gallery’s polished setting into a liminal zone existing between the ordinary and the infra-ordinary, adorned with pools of water, plants, mosquito nets, cicadas, neon lights, amongst other objects of the everyday. Contours get blurry; spaces stretched, activated; possibilities emerge. |
NGUCHONOBAY features the following artists:
(please click artists' names to see their works) Đỗ Thanh Lãng Hoàng Ngọc Tú Hoàng Nam Việt Ngô Đình Bảo Châu Nguyễn Đức Đạt Nguyễn Kim Tố Lan Nguyễn Việt Long Nguyễn Uyên Minh Sunny Trương Công Tùng Bảo Vương The show’s vernissage takes place from 6 to 9pm on Wednesday, 22 March and includes a collaborative sound performance courtesy of sound/visual artists Trương Công Tùng, Đào Tùng and experimental rock group Rắn Cạp Đuôi. A cocktail reception will be provided by Cù Rú. Throughout the duration of NGUCHONOBAY there will also be a number of side events happening at Galerie Quynh every weekend featuring contributions from various local artists, curators and initiatives. An informal Q&A session with the show’s participating artists will take place on the first weekend. Both toying with the durational aspect of sounds and visions, Zoe Butt (Artistic Director, The Factory Contemporary Arts Centre) will present an extended playlist serving as a day-long soundtrack to the exhibition, while The Onion Cellar hosts the HCMC premiere of Jonas Mekas’ 5-hour visual poem As I Was Moving ahead occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty and curates a special free-improv concert the line-up of which including musicians from different scenes.
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