» Embrasse ce monde, pardonne-lui

The title of the work – Embrasse ce monde, pardonne-lui (Embrace This World, Forgive It) – borrows a line from a poem by the artist’s father, the celebrated poet Tran Dan (1926–1997). Created over the span of more than two months, the piece takes the form of a meditative practice: each day, Tran Trong Vu returned to his studio and added to the painting an event that still lingered in his memory. These fragments accumulate into a dense, chaotic panorama of both ordinary and extraordinary episodes of urban life.

At the center of the canvas, a group of journalists points their cameras directly at the viewer, reversing the roles of observer and observed, blurring the line between artwork and audience. Amidst the noise, confusion, and even absurdity of the scene, the title becomes a quiet sigh – an expression of acceptance and forgiveness: forgiveness for the world, for the past, and for one’s own present.

The work bears many of Tran Trong Vu’s signature traits: sharp humor that turns life’s tragedies into satirical moments; a dazzling Pop palette inspired by propaganda posters, a departure from the muted, earthy tones of his earlier years; and a stage of pure absurdity, where every encounter feels like a surreal performance.