Nguyen Duc Phuong
Nguyen Duc Phuong (b. 1982, Vietnam) graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2007. He spent the next decade transcribing his observations of contemporary Vietnam into visual objects, ceramic, sculptures and painting, often employing natural materials such as soil, plant pigments and traditional papers. Phuong’s interest is deeply rooted in vernacular culture and local arts, demonstrated through his free-spirited and seemingly simplified approach to figurative painting; Eastern single-line composition; and his nostalgic yet humorous sensibility towards contemporary life.
Phuong has participated in several notable exhibitions, including Rhyming Gestures, Nguyen Art Foundation, HCMC, Vietnam, 2023; Home: Looking inward to the outer World, The Factory Contemporary Arts Center, HCMC, Vietnam, 2021; The Foliage 2, VCCA, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2018; and Look for the Divine Beings, Nha San Collective, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2017. In 2018, he was an artist in residence at A. Farm, HCMC, Vietnam.
Studio Visit with Nguyen Duc Phuong
Imbued with local nuances and folk spirit, Phuong Gio’s art goes beyond conventional standards of beauty, instead embracing the kind of simplicity that allows materials to speak for themselves. Committed to working with natural matters like soil, water, and paper, the artist reflects on his journeys across traditional craft villages in North Vietnam, his collaborations with Dan Do and Phu Sa Lab, and his participation in the artist-in-residency program at A. Farm in Saigon. These experiences have not only shaped Phuong Gio’s artistic vision, but also helped cultivate a distinctive style that might seem light-hearted on the surface yet is deeply engaged with social critique.
This video is part of a series of interviews by Nguyễn Art Foundation.