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Story AN TU
Photos THE OUTPOST, NGUYEN ART FOUNDATION, SAN ART
Contemporary art in Vietnam is using new forms to make connections and build community.
Escaping uniformity
After the 1986 economic reforms known as Doi moi, Vietnamese artists began to adopt elements of French and Eastern European painting. These expressive styles emphasize individuality, urging artists to break free from rigid material classifications and traditional techniques. Experimenting with elements such as performance, installation and video, a generation of Vietnamese artists has departed from convention and explored uncharted territory for their deeply felt messages.
Over the past two decades, performance art in particular has emerged as a powerful force shaping the landscape of Vietnamese contemporary art. Truong Tan, a performance art pioneer, continually challenges social and aesthetic norms through satirical imagery. Ly Hoang Ly, meanwhile, transformed Ho Chi Minh City’s Ton Duc Thang Street into a stage for The Poems of Heaven at San Art. As part of the exhibition, the artist and visitors bid farewell to the rows of stately trees that lined the boulevard for decades before they were removed by the city as part of an urban development project.
The rise of such non-material creative forms has redefined art and aesthetic experience in Vietnam. It resists the privileged standards of the academy, while retaining an intellectual edge through sharp perspectives on contemporary issues within a conceptual framework.
The art of community
Performance art, with its boundary-blurring interactions between audience and artist, underscores the importance of community in contemporary Vietnamese art. Rather than focusing on groups of individual artists – such as “Nghiem – Lien – Sang – Phai” or “Tri – Lan – Van – Can” – we are witnessing the ascendancy of works attributed to creative collectives such as Nha San Collective and Phu Luc Group.
We can also see the emphasis on relational art practice, as artists and communities regularly initiate and participate in intimate sharing and connection activities, establishing close relationships with the Vietnamese public. Noteworthy events include CAB Hoian’s work under the direction of artist Chinh Ba, where residencies for young artists and classes led by seasoned practitioners foster a deeper understanding of performance art. A recent Theatre of the Absurd, where actors performed scripted pieces while directly engaging with the audience, drew hundreds of spectators.
Another recent example was Nha San Collective’s Vietnamese Immigrating Garden at the 15th Documenta international art exhibition in 2022. Rooted in living environments and social contexts, the work is a community-focused, empirical study of the Vietnamese immigrant community in Germany, bridging Asian and European-American perspectives.
Moreover, artists, curators and art enthusiasts have united to raise funds and awareness about the war in Palestine through community film screenings. Contrary to the perception that relational art has been obsolete since the 1990s, it remains a vital component of contemporary expression and a testament to the enduring power of collective creativity.
Globalization of art
Contemporary Vietnamese art has increasingly incorporated elements of multiculturalism and innovation stemming from the context of globalization. English is more popular than ever in art spaces. Through technology and an openness to overseas cultural waves, Vietnamese artists have been able to learn, create and participate in diverse domestic and international events.
We can also see the valuable contributions of the Vietnamese diaspora community, which includes notable names such as Dinh Q. Le, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, Tiffany Chung and Phi Phi Oanh. Themes of diversity in identity between borders, the expansion of standards in aesthetic language and representative images, the interweaving of intercultural relationships and the reconstruction of history have become a fertile ground of inspiration for contemporary artists.
Although Vietnamese contemporary art is redefining itself every day, we can trace a thread of critical reflection that resonates with the times. The transcendence of rigid standards to make new and surprising connections remains the core value of Vietnamese contemporary art, one that has flourished over the past two decades and will continue to expand into the future.
