Do Thanh Lang
Do Thanh Lang (b. 1986, Vietnam) studied painting at the Ho Chi Minh Fine Arts University. Approaching art practice with a rare instinct – visible through the craggy edges of his canvases, or the occasional insect fossilized by his resin pour – Do Thanh Lang is aptly positioned to extract lightness from a dire situation. Dreamlike in all their hazy strangeness, his artworks are akin to pieces of a memory – a visual journal of altered consciousness.
His work has been shown in a number of group exhibitions in Vietnam and regionally, such as fluorescent fog, Galerie Quynh, HCMC, Vietnam, 2020; ASIA NOW, Paris Asian Art Fair, Paris, France, 2019; Alluvium, Galerie Quynh, HCMC, Vietnam, 2018; Salt of the Jungle, Korea Foundation Gallery, Seoul, Korea and Vietnamese Women’s Museum, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2018; and Hopscotch, Galerie Quynh, HCMC, Vietnam, 2016. Lang has also participated in Spot Art Singapore 2014 (ARTrium @ MCI, Singapore) and undertaken the residency program The Brownian Movement at Heritage Space in Hanoi.
Studio Visit with Do Thanh Lang
In this interview, Do Thanh Lang reflects on his artistic upbringing and the advantages it has afforded him in his education and pursuit of art. From a young age, Lang has observed and studied the paintings of his father, the artist Do Hoang Tuong. This early influence, in turn, has fuelled Lang’s exploration of unconventional materials like resin and plastic within his own painting practice. The interview delves into Lang’s artistic process, where unexpected art forms emerge from the uncertainty of materials. Lang and long-time friend and collaborator Dat Nguyen also discuss the founding of the Sao La group and their community-centered mobile art projects Cu Ru and No Cai Bum, highlighting artistic methods that are grounded in lived experiences.
This video is part of a series of interviews by Nguyễn Art Foundation.