» Midnight #9

Midnight #9 forms part of Ha Mang Thang’s solo exhibition Landscape | Mindscape in 2019. The large and expressive mixed media painting is inspired by Thang’s continued fascination with Vietnamese antiques. While earlier works followed the visual logic of the architectural blueprint or the landscape, depicting whole buildings and lakes in their entirety, this latter one follows the logic of the still life, depicting antique objects as remains of beautiful ruins, or focusing on particular motifs appearing therein. Thus, the work carries in itself both a contemporary sensibility and engagement with Vietnamese culture, provoking a sense of melancholia and awe in the spectator. From the external landscape, the painting fades into Thang’s internal mindscape in which we feel a sense of bittersweet beauty amid decay. 

The work is on permanent display at the Khai Sang headquarters, Paragon, HCMC, Vietnam.

(Edited from text excerpts provided by Galerie Quynh)