Ha Manh Thang
Ha Manh Thang (b. 1980, Vietnam) is celebrated as one of Vietnam’s most dynamic contemporary painters. His expansive artistic practice has evolved from studies of Vietnam’s cultural and social history to meditative observations of existence, journeying from symbolism and spirituality to the eventual nihilism of nothingness: where nature and physical objects find their ultimate beginning. In his earlier works, bright and imposing colors share a canvas with elements of pop-art to reflect changing attitudes in present-day Vietnam, but also to forewarn the chaos of consumerism and capitalism. The musicality of his brushstrokes, informed by an interest in jazz and classical East Asian poetry, is carried over to later works where he contemplates the passage of time. These canvases, rendered in heavy impasto, almost transmute paint media into earthly materials like mud or soil, wood or stone. As viewers gaze into the rough textures of his artworks, they are transported to a moment in time: in midsummer, under spring rain, or leaving behind the fading winter.
Ha Manh Thang has been featured alongside acclaimed artists such as Gerhard Richter, Marlene Dumas and Peter Doig in several international publications, including Painting Now (Thames and Hudson, 2015) and Painting Today (Phaidon, 2009). Having graduated from the Hanoi Fine Arts University in 2004, Thang has held a number of notable regional and international exhibitions, including The Reflection, Galerie Quynh, HCMC, Vietnam, 2021; BEYOND, Affinity Art, Geneva, Switzerland, 2020; Light and Colours: Art of Vietnam, Singapore & Malaysia, ION Art Gallery, Orchard Turn, Singapore, 2018; Passage of Time, Affinity Art, Hong Kong; Fading Dreams – Disintegrating Realities, Thavibu Gallery, Bangkok, Thailand, 2014; Instruments of Meditation: Works of Art from the Zoltán Bodnár Collection, Reök Palace, Budapest, Hungary; Ha Manh Thang and Le Quy Tong in the Bodnár Collection, NextArt Galéria, Budapest, Hungary, 2010; Connect: Kunstzene Vietnam, ifa Galleries, Berlin and Stuttgart, 2009; Post Doi Moi: Vietnamese Art After 1990, Singapore Art Museum, Singapore, 2008; and The rain and the small stream, presented by Ernst & Young Asean Art Outreach program, Singapore, 2008.
Studio Visit with Ha Manh Thang
For Ha Manh Thang, his art practice is a seamless thread that links the artist with his heritage and surrounding landscape. In this 20-minute video interview, the artist thinks about time and space, the visible scenery and the landscape of our imagination, the transition from figurative representation to abstraction, the presence of craftsmanship in Southeast Asian arts. This contemplative process influences his artwork, which is seen as a tangible reflection of the cycle of life.
This video is part of a series of interviews by Nguyễn Art Foundation.