Major events this week Apr. 20 – 25

Concert with Parallel Asteroid and Musicians of Domdom

Wed 22 Apr 2015, 8 pm

L’Espace

24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội

DomDom–The Hub for experimental music in collaboration with L’Espace –Institut français– proudly present: Concert with PARALLEL ASTEROID and YOUNG MUSICIANS OF DOMDOM.

“Parallel Asteroid”: Two musicians, two styles, one vision. The duo combines experimental, acoustic sounds with free form improvisations. The musicians are Cao Thanh Lan originally from Hanoi, Vietnam at the piano, prepared piano, objects and Gregor Siedl from Austria on saxophone and Game Calls.

Cao Thanh Lan has a strong classical contemporary music background and Gregor Siedl is a jazz musician with roots in improvised and experimental music. Their common ground is free improvisation with vigorous use of extended techniques and new forms of expression. The duo is actively connected to the thriving music scenes of Vienna, Berlin, Cologne and Brussels.

This time Parallel Asteroid returns to Vietnam by the invitation of Domdom and the financial support of Austria Embassy. After the intensive workshop and practice sessions with young musicians of the advanced improvisation class of Domdom, the result of this adventurous project will be presented in a unique concert for the audience of Hanoi.

Do not miss out on this special concert experience with the Duo Parallel Asteroid and the talented young composers of Domdom.

Free entrance.

Cao Thanh Lan – the only Vietnamese pianist who is specialized in classical contemporary music (graduated from Cologne Conservatory Germany with Highest Distinction in the Master program of New Music). She participated in world famous festivals of contemporary music, amongst others Manifest at Ircam Paris, Klangspuren and Impuls in Austria, Strom Festival in Germany…

Gregor Siedl is an Austrian musician with a background in jazz music who is also an expert in using instrumental extended techniques. He has won several prizes at prestigious international jazz competitions and has released numerous recordings as well as performed in many festivals in Europe and in Asia.

The young composers of Domdom are from different music backgrounds. Some were trained in classical music, others studied Vietnamese traditional music, some others are self-taught musicians. The educational courses of Domdom encourage and enable them to absorb and integrate aesthetical concepts of experimental music as well as develop their skills and necessary knowledge in performing experimental music. They became and will become the positive creative forces of the experimental music scene of Vietnam.

Electronic and Traditional Music Event: World of Sounds – What you don’t know yet

Vu Nhat Tan.

Thu 23 Apr 2015, 8 pm

Hanoi Rock City

Tickets

Early Bird ticket: 50,000 VND (Book ticket via ticketbox.vn)

On door: 80,000 VND

Vu Nhat Tan

“Vu Nhat Tan has found inspiration in ancient music, folk music, court music and chamber music from different regions of Vietnam. For then, the influence has become a peak through the sound sometimes mysterious, sometimes harsh glare of life …”

(New York Time)

Dee.F

Let’s come to the show to enjoy the melody that you can not stop dancing by Dee.F, who turns human life sound into the tone controls your legs!

Dee.F has performed in festivals like Kobalt Works (Belgium), Delicate Decibel (Thailand), Bass Kitchen (Taiwan),..What will he bring surprises to us? Please wait!

You can also learn more Dee.F’s music at his site about.me/deefmusic

Nguyen Do Minh Quan

Self – learned guitar at age 11, and then played in the band Rock / Metal as Nuranium and Thrasher, then became sound and recording engineer for a Vietnamese Post Punk band called Wood Lim, and then switched to play electronic music, the little guy Nguyen Do Minh Quan, never stops making audiences surprised with innovative and colorful music. He is very willing to give you an unforgettable night!

Pham Thanh Tam

With Vietnamese musical instrument “Dan bau”, the young girl came out from Vietnam National Academy Music will give you an amazing night of time (past and contemporary) interference, the new combination between traditional instruments and electronic music. Having been selected in the list Synthesis Album Vol. 1, Urban Art Berlin 2014 – the album focusing on the work of leading female composers in the world, Pham Thanh Tam promises to bring an unforgettable musical space!

“Flex” Art Exhibition by Heather McClellan

Opening: Fri 17 Apr 2015, 7 pm

Exhibition: 18 – 26 Apr 2015

Nguyen Art Gallery

31A Van Mieu

Artist Heather McClellan requests your presence at “Flex”, her Vietnamese-inspired lacquer exhibition.

Heather McClellan received her formal training in graphics and illustration at the Cleveland Institute of Art, one of the leading art and design schools in the United States. A lover of materials and methods, Heather’s work continually leads her to explore new techniques and continual learning at the feet of masters of new crafts. She works fluently in traditional media (ink, pencil, pastels, oils, and acrylics), but is also practiced in a diversity of methods (scratchboard, lithographs, ceramics, silk screens, lacquer, large murals, and mixed media). She regularly represents women as her subjects and draws her inspiration from a wide variety of cultures.

Since moving to Vietnam, Heather has been studying the local lacquer techniques. ‘Flex’ will be her first show in Vietnam, featuring nearly 30 lacquer boards whose primary subjects are women.

Artist statement:

Early in my career, my greatest struggle was in creating. I found that my passion for the human form and my God-given talents made it easy to illustrate, to show things “as they are”, but to me, this was disappointingly insufficient; art is so much more. It should evoke and stir others to passion. It should showcase imperfections and limitations. But most of all, it should be creative, meaning that it generates something new: an idea, a sentiment, a desire. I have found great satisfaction in experimenting across multiple techniques, perhaps because of the newness and my desire to explore, but more likely because of the imperfections they allow. Pencil and chalk are so precise that they leave little space for the beautiful accidents which manifest themselves in other media. As I force my technical skills into new and imperfect formats, I find it jarring, disrupting, exciting—and this excitement comes precisely because I don’t know what to expect. To me, this is creation.

The exhibition is free entry.

Photo Exhibition “Vietnam – 25 Years Documenting a Changing Country”

Opening: Fri 10 Apr 2015, 6 pm

Exhibition: 10 Apr – 08 May 2015

Art Vietnam Gallery

24 Ly Quoc Su (2nd Floor), Hanoi

Art Vietnam Gallery is honored to present, in celebration of the 20 year anniversary of diplomatic relationship between America and Vietnam, and the 40 year anniversary of the end of the American Vietnam war, the photographs of Catherine Karnow’s 25 year journey into the heart of Vietnam.

Renowned for her work for National Geographic covering the globe over the last three decades, Catherine presents an intimate view from the lens of the consummate insider.

Certainly her father, Stanley Karnow, the renowned journalist and author of the seminal book and Emmy award-winning documentary on the country, “Vietnam: A History”, has informed some of her passion, but clearly she has found her very own personal relationship to this land with its troubled history and promising future.

Catherine Karnow’s attachment to Vietnam, her 25 year history of photographing the changing society and landscape is a visual diary of how she entered this land of enigma and discovered its twists and turns at every intersection of life, becoming immersed in the land and its people.

Vietnam has a way of entering your pores, slowly, silently it becomes a part of your breath, the way you move in the world without you ever realizing it until one day you have absorbed its very essence in your being.

Vietnam has entered the soul of the photographer and at each juncture as she forms relationships – often lasting friendships – with her subjects we see not only the transformation of the country but also the photographer herself. Her photographs show her deep love for the country and its people. Behind the photographs are extraordinary stories of friendships and connections that seem destined, that perhaps define “gap duyen”: it is meant to be.

The exhibition is sectioned into periods of time from the somber years of the early 90’s, the General Giap era, the “doi moi” years, Agent Orange/Amerasians, and finally, the New Vietnam.

Each era holds its own special place, reflecting the moment captured by the lens of a sensitive camera attuned to the idiosyncratic atmosphere.

The early works are pensive and full of questioning. The Giap years from her initial visit with the General in 1990 to her historic return, as the solitary foreign journalist invited to his homeland for his funeral in 2013, are confirmation that not only is she accepted in this land, she belongs.

The Agent Orange/Amerasian works depict the sad legacy of war, tragedy for both sides, resolution unrequited. Disquieting images of disfigured infants, the loneliness of the abandoned Amerasians are not comfortable, but important. To face the tragedy of the past is to begin the healing. Amidst the sorrow one can perceive a faint hope, the promise of reconciliation and healing.

Doi Moi works portray a country with doors opening to international trade. Foreign alliances are formed as the country, poised on the cusp of a bright future, is hailed as the new Tiger of Southeast Asia.

Moving on to the New Vietnam series of works, the youth of Vietnam come forward, blazing with renewed energy and a passion for life that is palpable as we gaze at brazen consumption, fashion without rival, and extravagant lifestyles, all merely a dream only a scant 25 years before.

We are honored that Ms. Karnow will be present at the opening as well as many of the subjects in her photographs and other Vietnamese and American dignitaries.

A truly celebratory occasion as subjects and photographer confront their shared history reviving and sharing tender memories of long ago.

For two American women, photographer Catherine Karnow, and Suzanne Lecht, Art Director of Art Vietnam Gallery and resident of Hanoi for 21 years, this occasion is a tribute to all the people who have touched our lives and made Vietnam reside in our hearts.

Please join us in this celebration of the photographer’s reunion with the country and the friendships renewed as it has progressed through the decades and the grand occasion of the 20 year anniversary of the diplomatic relationship of America and Vietnam. United in peace and harmony we move together into a bright future.

Exhibition “The way of the Mind” at Dong Phong Art Gallery

Exhibition: 12 Apr – 12 May 2015

Dong Phong Art Gallery

03 Ly Dao Thanh Street

Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi   

“The way of the mind is a muse that shapes the emotions of our everyday life. To me, the abstract is something very specific that can be rearranged on the canvas and “filled” with colours. Each of viewer makes his or her own choice. Everyone must find their own path and put their heart into the experience!” – Ta Dinh Khiem, April 2015.

Dong Phong Art Gallery is delighted to present the newest works by artist Ta Dinh Khiem in the mini Show “The way of the Mind”. The exhibition is open from 12 April to 12 May 2015.

Photography Exhibition “War Reporters”

Opening: Tue 14 Apr 2015, 6 pm

Exhibition: 14 Apr – 10 May 2015

L’Espace

24 Tràng Tiền, Hà Nội

Doan Cong Tinh, Chu Chi Thanh, Mai Nam and Hua Kiem are the Vietnamese photographers who covered the Vietnam War in the Northern part of the country. Their images are relatively unknown to the West where people only see the war through the photos of Western photographers such as Larry Burrows, Don McCullin, Griffiths, Chauvel or Caron.

Organized 40 years after the war ended, this exhibition offers the rare opportunity to see the photos by the 4 Vietnamese photographers. This is also a remarkable event during The International Photojournalism Festival of Perpignan founded by Patrick Chauvel. The exhibition will undoubtedly offer the audience new insights to the Vietnam war.

Free admission.

Exhibition “The 8th Day”

Exhibition: 26 Mar – 25 Apr 2015

Lobby Level

Sofitel Plaza Hanoi

1 Thanh Nien Road, Ba Dinh, Hanoi

On 26th March 2015, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi is delighted to present the exhibition entitled “The 8th Day” featuring paintings by a group of female artists from Hanoi. The exhibition will be open until 25th April 2015.

Date and time mark important milestones in everyone’s life. Every week has only seven days, but to our artists, there is the 8th day beyond common knowledge and perception. It is where and when they bask into their own imaginary worlds, fuel their dreams and get inspired for their creativity.

The exhibition will showcase paintings by talented artists Duong Thuy Duong, Dang Tu Thu and Nguyen Thi Minh Tam. Harmoniously blending Vietnamese touch and French elegance in its contemporary design and most refined ambiance inspired by the Indochine past charm, Sofitel Plaza Hanoi will be the perfect settings for this inspiring event.

Duong Thuy Duong believes that there is neither gods nor spirit, but she intends to draw them. Therefore, they appear in Duong’s paintings mostly as symbols. Applying unusual and contemporary technique in her paintings, she surpasses doubts about faith and religion to look down to the world.

Unlike Duong, Dang Tu Thu equivocally believes in God, but sometimes she doubts herself. In her eye, God can watch the living souls that he created but takes no action to show his existence. Thu’s oil paintings are the combination of figurative art and the new surrealism.

Only the third artist, Nguyen Thi Minh Tam, seems to be sunk in her own spiritual world. There are angels, devils and souls that grow on the law of the universe. Her paintings are filled with strong and bright colors but simplified in figure, requiring the audience not only to see, but to really feel the artworks.

“The 8th Day” Painting Exhibition promises the audience an exciting experience in the creativity and inspiration of art.

Solo Exhibition “The Land of Energy” of Ngoc Nau

Opening: Sun 15 Mar 2015, 6 pm

Artist talk: Mon 16 Mar 2015, 4.30 pm

Exhibition: 15 Mar – 30 Apr 2015

CUC Gallery

5th floor, Vietnam Women’s Museum

36 Ly Thuong Kiet, Hanoi

Have you ever worried that the land where they were born gradually belongs to others? Nau’s concerns began with her “The Land of Energy” which is the first step launch of a long-term project for the mining localities in the province of Thai Nguyen. On her way from laboratories to mines, Nau is longing to unravel the secrets of the underground where Nau was born.

Nau’s artworks in this series introduce a new art practices of many emerging contemporary artists now to portray concepts of the past, present and future: very curious and experimental, research based and artistic intuitive.

Born in 1989 in Thai Nguyen, Nau is among the most dynamic and innovative artists of her generation. With her majors in Vietnam Art History and Criticism and Painting, Nau has a very critical take on contemporary art. She has participated in numerous exhibitions in Gwangju Museum of Art (Gwangju, Korea), Goethe Institute (Hanoi, Vietnam), San Art (Hochiminh, Vietnam) and Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum (Tokyo, Japan). In 2015, ‘The land of energy’ is her first solo exhibition with CUC Gallery.

Nau lives and works in Hochiminh, Vietnam.

Ngoc Nau’s artwork was also showcased at Art Stage Singapore 2015.

Exhibition “Smile! Temporary Art” with Plonk & Replonk

Opening: Fri 26 Mar 2015, 6.30 pm

Showcase: 26 Mar – 26 Apr 2015

Manzi Art Space

14 Phan Huy Ich, Hanoi

Manzi and L’Espace are proud to present the weird and wonderful world of Plonk & Replonk with the exhibition entitled “Smile! Temporary Art” (opening 26th March at Manzi).

Well-known in both their place of birth Switzerland and neighboring country France as Plonk & Replonk, the artist duo/brothers Hubert Froidevaux (b. 1966) and Jacques Froidevaux (b. 1963) explore the endless possible uses of humour in various art forms: object, sculpture, installation, light box, postcard, graphic print etc. Characterized by a mix of black humour and wicked wit, which borders on the sarcastic and mischievous, Plonk & Replonk deal with worldwide relevant topics such as environment, globalization, education and consumerism with both criticality and lightheartedness, making their work brutally honest yet playful and fantastical.

By turning ordinary objects, habits and events upside-down and inside-out, Plonk & Replonk ask us to see reality in other ways. Or rather, they invite us in for a not-your-usual exhibition, a never-ending laughter work-out, and a hard-to-find chance to at least, for once, let ourselves loose and laugh at art.

Free entry.

At the same time exhibition “PONG-PING” by Plonk & Replonk also takes place at L’Espace from 24 Mar to 12 Apr.

Hanoigrapevines

Major events this week Apr. 20 – 25

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