Nguyễn Kim Duy biography Starting the artistic process with Painting, Kim Duy questioned the hidden layers of color and form, the contents of art contained in words. His creations with ballpoint pens inscribed on canvas began in his early years at an art academy in Germany, and since then Duy has continued to pursue visual arts with a focus on content and ideas, using words and phrases. language as a creative material for the visual arts. Duy's compositions dissect the concept of complete words, disassemble the word structure back to the state of arrangement, and transform them from being read to being seen. Duy's artistic practice experimented with a variety of objects and materials such as printers, paper cutters, napkins, ballpoint pens, markers, etc. to more traditional materials such as pencils and paper. His works have been featured in group exhibitions, open studios of Nha San Collective, MoT+++, Heritage Space, etc.. works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Prologue NGUYỄN KIM DUY 2021 39,5 x 19,6 cm CD marker on paper Enquire related what's going on at Manzi

Jamie Maxtone-Graham biography A photographer, cinematographer and director living in Hanoi, Vietnam since 2007, Jamie’s background includes more than 20 years as a Director of Photography in both New York and Los Angeles. His numerous personal portfolios of photographs and moving image works produced during his time in Vietnam locate across several genres – social documentary, conceptual, portraiture and still life. His work has exhibited in galleries and photography festivals in Europe and Asia, been published in several critically reviewed academic journals and is in a number of private collections. He has conducted long-term workshops in both film and photography at Hanoi DocLab and is a committed supporter of the art community in Vietnam as practitioner and mentor. works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Untitled Still Life no. 10 JAMIE MAXTONE-GRAHAM 2013 40 x 60 cm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic Paper Enquire works Untitled Still Life no. 15 JAMIE MAXTONE-GRAHAM 2013 40 x 60 cm Hahnemühle Photo Rag Metallic Paper Enquire related what's going on at Manzi

VUI LÒNG CHỌN NGÔN NGỮ Tiếng Việt CHOOSE THE LANGUAGE English

em|body - September 21, 2021 August 21, 2015 Doãn Hoàng Lâm em|body - an exhibition of both new and never before seen works by Doãn Hoàng Lâm. A Vietnam University of Fine Arts graduate, Lâm belongs to one of the previous generations of academically-trained artists whose talents were endured and pushed to the limit by the then highly-demanding art education system, and is now considered one of Hanoi’s most accomplished painters. With a sense of naturalness of an artist and a disciplined mindset of an artisan, Lâm approaches each painting medium with sensitivity and clarity, utilizing its intrinsic vocabulary and qualities as the foundation for the formation of his ideas and experimentations, and an instrument to communicate his thoughts and mental states. In his works, lacquer would often be associated with depth, silk with delicacy, oil paint with fullness, watercolor with lightness and so on. For Lâm, to conduct a thorough practice with the most primary skills like sketching and life drawing, and to have a clear understanding of the most basic things like how to handle a particular paint and how to choose which brush to use, is as important as to continuously explore and refine his thought-, reflection- and creation-process. They both help to form the visual language and express the artistic vision that define Lâm and separate him from his contemporaries. Comprising four lacquer and five oil on canvas, em|body transforms the walls of Manzi into windows looking out into landscapes that are both cosmic and intimate, recalling images of the galaxy whilst revealing sensuous properties of the human body. The partially rendered human-like shapes look as if they are hovering in space, or emerging from behind the surface. Sometimes vulnerable and concealed, they have their backs to us; but mostly confrontational and powerful, they stare straight ahead, with their bare skin, disembodied figures and provoking positions all on display. Somewhere in this strange galaxy we see snippets resembling body parts: a twisted knee, a sagging breast, a deformed head, contorted limbs or spreading legs. Distorted and exaggerated, the body is repeatedly abstracted through the artist’s manipulations of forms and shifts in scales, acting as much a symbol of desire and a celebration of beauty as an object of fetish and an embodiment of violence. Here, the familiar has been made uncanny. Just a degree or two away from reality, we are left in an uncomfortable position, our senses toyed with, and our perceptions of affection/abjection, normality/abnormality, morality/immorality disrupted and questioned. ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

A Sifted Gaze... - May 28, 2017 May 14, 2017 Dan Drage Including a series of sculptures and silk paintings, A Sifted Gaze invites audience to see everyday objects in a new way, in the value of their form, in their repeating patterns, in the beauty of their line, in the interplay between the individual objects, in the collective whole which together they create. About the artist: Born in Colorado, USA, in 1978, Dan Drage graduated from Milligan College in 2001 with a degree in Visual Arts and Humanities. He and his wife relocated to Hanoi, Vietnam in 2006 as Vietnamese language students. In 2010 they joined the German NGO Allianz Mission, and continue to work alongside the local team. Dan has the joyful situation of being able to spend half his time with the NGO helping communities in various forms of poverty, and half his time making art. In June Dan and his family will relocate to Scotland for a year while he completes a masters’ degree in art and theology at the University of St. Andrews. ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Anastasiia Kuusk biography Born in 1991 in Ukraine, Anastasiia graduated from the National University, Kiev, Ukraine in 2010 with a degree in Interior Design and went on to obtain a Master’s degree in Animation from the Estonian Academy of Arts, Tallinn in 2014. She has lived in Hanoi since 2019 and her artistic practice is based here. She works full-time as a freelance artist and also occasionally teaches illustration. Anastasiia previously worked as a character designer in a game design company before she went freelance. Anastasiia is an illustrator who embraces traditional techniques, using only pencil and watercolor; she loves working in miniature and her work is highly detailed. Anastasiia creates complex whimsical worlds with wit and humour, merging seemingly realistic situations with impossible protagonists. She now works primarily as a children’s book illustrator. Currently she has ten published books in the USA, Germany and Estonia. In 2023, she had first solo exhibition 'Illo Elysium' (Work Room Four, Hanoi) works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Hoi-Oi-Oi ANASTASIIA KUUSK 2024 21.5 x 28 cm (incl.frame) color pencil on paper Enquire works Chungking Express ANASTASIIA KUUSK 2024 36 x 28 cm (incl.frame) color pencil on paper Enquire works Thanh nien street / The Youth ANASTASIIA KUUSK 2024 26 x 33 cm (incl.frame) color pencil on paper Enquire related what's going on at Manzi

In Situ - October 15, 2019 August 31, 2019 Lê Hoàng Bích Phượng Nguyễn Phi Phi Oanh Nguyễn Đức Phương Nguyễn Huy An Nguyễn Trần Nam Nguyễn Minh Thành As suggested by the name ‘In Situ’—a Latin phrase meaning ‘in the original place’ , ‘appropriate position’ , or ‘natural arrangement’ —the exhibition not only showcases the latest artworks dedicated to Manzi by Nguyễn Phi Phi Oanh, Lê Hoàng Bích Phượng, Nguyễn Huy An, Nguyễn Trần Nam, Nguyễn Đức Phương and Nguyễn Minh Thành, but also serves as the grand opening for Manzi’s new exhibition space located at 2 Ngõ Hàng Bún, Hà Nội. Presenting a thorough experiment on lacquer and silk through more than 20 works, the exhibition transports the viewer to a diverse reality painted from life, from the nostalgic and carefree spirit in Nguyễn Đức Phương's artworks, the delicate and richly meaningful silk paintings of Huy An, the dark obsessions of Nguyễn Trần Nam’s black and white lacquer series, and the melancholy portraits on silk of Nguyễn Minh Thành, to the obscure relations between time and space in Lê Hoàng Bích Phượng’s fragile silk works, and the reflection of the strangeness and significance of the material and the local in the age of the immaterial, virtual and digital reproduction in Phi Phi Oanh’s lacquer on steel series. Painting has always been an important part of the artistic practice of the six, particularly in this exhibition where silk and lacquer are the main mediums. ‘In Situ’ therefore questions ‘what it is that defines a painting’, and ‘where do the boundaries and rules for the medium lie?’ *‘In Situ’ is supported by the Goethe Institut. ARTWORKS GALLERY PRO SE SERIES - installation by Nguyễn Oanh Phi Phi In this exhibition, the format of the works presented make reference to the touchscreen tablet, a technological device so ubiquitous that it is integral to the way we interact today. Always by our side like an extension of our being, these digital devices entertain us, help record our memories, plan our lives, and connect us. Ultimately they have become how we mediate the world and represent a window into our collective imagination. At first glance, these seem like a series of mass produced tablets showing some random digital image, but upon closer inspection, they are actually lacquer paintings mimicking screens. Although the painting image is static, I rely on the materiality of the lacquer medium and ever shifting light against the gold and silver leaf to suggest movement and to entice the viewer to move in closer, thus entering into its “aura”. The viewer is invited to interact with the work by gently picking it up with two hands. OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Second Opinion - January 7, 2019 December 7, 2018 Nguyễn Thị Huệ Hà Đào Hạnh Trần Lê Xuân Tiến Nguyễn Đức Huy Mai Phạm Thịnh Nguyễn Jamie Maxtone-Graham 'The several different series of photographs presented in this exhibition were developed out of a long-term workshop experience at Hanoi DocLab and produced in 2017. Each of the photographers located a public or private landscape that held meaning for them and for a number of months explored that photographically. The projects were developed out of group critique sessions with participants sharing their works-in-progress with the others also producing their own series. It was a highly supportive, nurturing and ultimately collaborative effort. So the opportunity to exhibit the results of that process presented a moment to continue the collaboration - the curators of this exhibition came through the workshop and have seen all the portfolios developed from the beginning, they know the difficulty and the processes intimately and have brought them to this realization on the wall before you. This is the second group exhibition of DocLab’s photography work. The first, in 2013, was called Autopsy Of Days – a title suggesting a kind of clinical examination, a post-mortem by the photographers in examining their own lives, their own time within their own city of Hanoi. In medicine, when patients receive a difficult diagnosis from a doctor and are uncertain about how to proceed with treatment, often they will get a second opinion from another medical professional in order to confirm, dispute or amend the original finding. So here, by a different group, is a second look' - Jamie Maxtone-Graham ARTWORKS GALLERY About the artworks 1 . Story of Blue and Red by Nguyễn Thị Huệ Everybody could be described by one or a group of color. It could be their aura or physical appearance. It could be the melancholic, cold deep blue or the burning red of fire. It could be a beautiful confluence or vast emptiness that cannot be be connected. Through the memories of her parents in her childhood and her feelings about their relationship, the artist wants to portray their relationship as to look back and to discover more about them through the photography process that has interaction with her parents 2. The Mirror by Hà Đào In this interior setting, two bodies experience pain, pleasure and sensations in between. The camera is turned at both the girl and her lover, sometimes peering at what’s living inside a house with a half open window, an enclosed fish tank and a sealed plastic bag. This is a slightly truthful, slightly fantastical diary that is open to the public. These are captured moments of craving, clinging, confronting and pushing away, which rely on the camera sensor as a safe box, whose meanings slip once the person is not present. 3. Another World by Hạnh Trần "One day, I was wondering in a vast burning grass field. I saw the wood wastes dried out to make matches. I was silently watching them: the shape of the wood resembles human eyes, the grass burning out from its root still felt warm. I photographed them as an observer. I went on to capture little details of the natural world surrounding me. This allows me to see and feel them close to my body. The shape and lines of a leaf could be the neutrons in my brain or the veins in my heart… With materials from nature that are considered garbage, I hope to reveal and visualize our human connection with another world that exists right here and now, but might fall into oblivion." 4. Mom-me của Việt Vũ Mom-me is my first personal image project about my mom made in late 2016. I used the camera as a means to experience the traces time has left on my mom's body. This collection is also an exploration inside my mind about what the relationship between a mom and a son looks like. While making the nude photos that shows apparent old-age traces on my mom, I had clear intention of using natural on-spot lighting. In that way, I could reach the simplicity and the natural quality of the images. That helped me come closest to the character – my mom. Also, in that way, I could expose the somewhat under-dogged character in the most direct way. Other photos reveal my mom in a gentler and somewhat poetic way as if in a sweet dream. 5. Looking for the 4th side by Lê Xuân Tiến The series is a process of confronting scenes on which the author imposed his memories, dissecting the memories from the scenes so they can both be looked at again in a different form. A piece of memory only exists in the the mind, and the scenes do not carry the author's personal imprint. Could this attempt succeed? 6. '112' by Nguyễn Đức Huy With this work, the artist repeats the process of recording the subject day by day with the same camera angle and composition, following the dying process of the tangerines. In this whole process, the artist asks himself: At which moment are they actually dead? 7. What I shoot when I go around the city by Mai Phạm This project starts when I take my camera around the city where I’m living, recording all imagery that caught my attention, freely and naturally. Slowly, the images that I want to remember from those wandering times started to be more focused. They reflects my feeling about the city. To me, Hanoi is a living creature, that inside which each scenery and resident has connect and exist in different ways. OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Nhà Tây Transforms - October 29, 2013 October 10, 2013 Nguyễn Thế Sơn Trần Hậu Yên Thế Duo exhibition by Nguyen The Son & Tran Hau Yen The – an exploration of the physical and moral landscape of Hanoi as it transforms and mutates into the 21st century. In his previous body of work, Nha Mat Pho (Houses facing the street), Son addressed the social issues of the rampant materialism of the society, the discrepancy of wealth between the rich and the poor, and the imposing Western commoditization of the people. In this latest series 'Nhà Tây Transforms', Son continues his research of the transformations of the urban landscapes. Fellow artist, researcher Yen The adds yet another historical layer to this discovery of the life of the Nhà Tây (Western Villa). Following the maps and drawings of the French intellectual Henri Oger, who in 1908-1909 created 4,577 drawings of every aspect of the lives of the inhabitants, Yen The creates his own layer of analysis of the lifestyle of the inhabitants and the original façade of the villa. With this 'Nhà Tây Transforms', Nguyen the Son and Yen The leave the viewer alone with their perceptions of how life is transformed by progress as it is named, and the repercussions of this modernity upon society. ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Bùi Tiến Tuấn biography Born in 1971 in Quang Nam province, graduated from Ho Chi Minh University of Fine Arts in 1998, Bui Tien Tuan has made a name for himself as one of the best silk painters of Vietnamese contemporary art. Mainly using ink and watercolor on silk or dzo paper and focused on woman portraits, but rather than to conform with standards and patterns of these traditional media and the classic topic, Tuan's works are uniquely striking as powerful, dynamic, yet sophisticated. Depicted in an imaginary world, the characters in his painting are free and self - assertive, disentangled themselves from all banalities of everyday life. works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Lazy lady - Snoozy cat BÙI TIẾN TUẤN 2023 90 x 60 cm silk painting Enquire works Polka-dot Girl BÙI TIẾN TUẤN 2023 40 x 60 cm acrylic on dzo paper Enquire works Peachy lips BÙI TIẾN TUẤN 2023 40 x 60 cm acrylic on dzo paper Enquire works Three Dancers BÙI TIẾN TUẤN 2012 135 x 83 cm Ink, acrylic on silk Enquire related what's going on at Manzi

Lovecore - November 25, 2021 October 29, 2021 AP Nguyễn Lovecore An installation by AP Nguyễn, the participating artist of Manzi’s 2020 Artist Residency Program Curated by Bill Nguyễn … “Look at this trove Treasures untold How many wonders can one cavern hold? Looking around here you'd think Sure, she's got everything” And so it goes, one of The Little Mermaid's most memorable moments, where we see Princess Ariel swirl around in her secret grotto, excitedly singing about the mundane objects she has collected during her exploration of shipwrecks and caves under the sea - objects that perhaps have been discarded, lost or forgotten by those living above the surface of water. In the exhibition ‘Lovecore’ by artist AP Nguyễn, a similar sense of sweetness and strangeness, of wonder and puzzlement, emerges. For here, the artist also welcomes us into her personal treasure trove which has been accumulated over the years, and openly displays - for our viewing pleasure - the objects of her own desires and dreams, in all their brilliance, vulnerability, and honesty. Hòn non bộ. Áo dài. Hạ Long Bay. Picture frame. Bikini bottoms. Karaoke. ‘Việt Nam Quê Hương Tôi’. Appearing in this exhibition are but a few objects, phrases and images (or rather, subjects of enquiry), selected from AP’s ongoing project which started in 2017 when the artist left Vietnam to study and live abroad. Embracing her position as someone twin-cultured, having always been fascinated by both the kitsch and camp (*), and to all things “quintessentially Vietnamese” (**), AP makes art that takes inspiration from, brings together, and at times, sits uncomfortably between personal memories and public imagination. Borrowing from popular cultural phenomenon, utilizing the aesthetic of mass-produced souvenirs, as well as their well-known and over-exhausted iconography, AP playfully subverts the conventions and expectation of such objects and images - by altering their properties and functions, or by weaving in her autobiographical reflections and experiences. Thus, her work teases with what we think we know. ============================================= (*) Traditionally, kitsch is associated with Western culture, especially with the post-industrial revolution when society started to grow affluent and more people had more time for entertainment and recreation. As “cheap imitations, humble religious art objects, vulgar souvenirs, and kinky antiques”, kitsch is mass-produced, faking up and combining stylistic conventions of vastly different periods, countries and cultures. Often used as mere ostentatious decoration, kitsch is popularized and adored by many because of its accessibility, affordability and what scholar/critic Matei Călinescu referred to as “instant beauty” – pleasing to the eyes and easy to understand. Often hard to distinguish from kitsch, camp “cultivates bad taste... as a form of superior refinement,” and is at times consciously used by artists to “subvert the conventions of a “good taste” that eventually leads to sclerosis of academicism.” For a detailed study of kitsch and camp, refer to Matei Călinescu’s book ‘Five Faces of Modernity: Modernism, Avant-garde, Decadence, Kitsch, Postmodernism’ (1977). Indiana: Indiana University Press, USA. (**) Taken from AP Nguyễn’s artist statement, November 2020. Here, the phrase “things quintessentially Vietnamese” refers to the ideas, images and locations that have come to symbolize an imagination of what constitutes ‘Vietnam’. They themselves have been turned into mass-produced souvenirs one collects as they go on holiday (i.e. keychain, fridge magnet, picture frame, postcard etc.), or interior decors one displays in their home. ARTWORKS GALLERY The title of the show refers to an Internet aesthetic (born out of TikTok, Instagram and Tumblr) that celebrates love and nostalgia, often incorporating the colors pink, red and white, and heart-shaped pattern, and is “based on the visual culture of manufactured romance and affection.” More info: https://aesthetics.fandom.com/wiki/Lovecore On the opposite of the spectrum is Hatecore (also known as Violencecore), an aesthetic that involves hatred, anger, heartbreak, violent imagery, and the feeling of rejection. ________________________________________________________________________ Crisscrossing the space, a group of small rock-like sculptures stand. Their translucent ceramic skin is coated in various shades of off white, brownish yellow, smoky blue, and pale purple, provoking a sense of frailty, sickness and decay. Inspired by the sites that have become symbols for Vietnamese tourism such as Hạ Long Bay or Ninh Bình, and by the long-standing local art form of hòn non bộ , this series of sculptures acts as portals through which we can look into AP’s private world. Originating millenniums ago, hòn non bộ is a miniature mountain and pond structure, a material representation of the locals’ imagination of the universe and their respect towards the power of the elements. Traditionally displayed in temples and pagodas, hòn non bộ can now easily be produced, purchased and used as decoration in one’s home. On the surface of AP’s sculptures, however, in place of details usually seen on a conventional hòn non bộ (such as live plants and ceramic models of pagodas, humans and animals) now grow palm trees, starfish, flip-flops and bikinis - alluring visuals often associated with the illusion of ‘tropical holiday’ escapism. Next to them, the phrase ‘Việt Nam Quê Hương Tôi’ (‘Vietnam My Country’) appears as fragmented, separated, singular words. No longer standing together, no longer whole, which ‘Vietnam’ is AP referring to? Which one(s) is she claiming to be hers? The one existing in mythology and beliefs; or the one turned into a touristic commodity - packaged, sold and bought, to service others’ fantasy of a heaven on earth? Tucked away, inside some of AP’s ceramic sculptures, we see videos of the artist herself in different situations, playing different characters. In one instance, she is dressed in a traditional áo dài, wearing heavy make-up, floating on top of an oversaturated still image of a landscape with lush greenery and majestic waters. In an awkward, detached, but nonetheless playful manner, AP lip-syncs to the song ‘Cát Bụi Tình Xa’ (roughly translated ‘The Dust of a Love Long Gone’), written by the much-celebrated, late composer Trịnh Công Sơn, originally sung by the Việt kiều singer Khánh Hà. The somewhat amateurish lip-syncing and dancing of the character who AP embodies is intriguing - is she camera-shy, or intentionally doing it out-of-sync? As the video continues, we see her body language starting to change, as she gently flips her hair and flirts with the voyeuristic lenses of the camera, as if claiming her control. At certain points, AP breaks out of both the song and character, deliberately moving her lips out of sync with the tune and leading her gaze elsewhere off frame, and eventually casually gets back to performing. It is as if the music, people and moments of the past have been discarded, erased of their context, forgotten, and become a tune one can conveniently select, play and turn off.. Or, is it that the weight of history is so significant and dense, that one has to - from time to time - ignore its existence? Like it is often said, ‘Ignorance is bliss.’ Elsewhere in the space, another sculpture made of several ceramic parts hangs on the wall, depicting what looks like a pair of underwear or bikini bottom, broken into pieces and tied to a chain. No longer putting on makeup or costumes, in this work AP deliberately takes off her façade, confronting us with the most intimate item of clothing, usually seen by loved ones or oneself. The act of revealing something so close to the skin of the female body and female identity becomes twisted, for across the shiny surface of the ceramic, the word ‘Privilege’ faintly appears. What privilege? The privilege to own and touch one’s body? The privilege to share and change one’s identity? Who has this privilege? Can this privilege be earned, or taken? Here, the artist also points at a different kind of privilege - her own - which has provided her with a better education, given her the opportunity to travel and see the world, and essentially the freedom to choose how to live her life. Ironically, to have this freedom there might be a price to pay, as the symbol of the chain suggests. For is it not true that ‘You win some, you lose some’? Just like in the much darker ending of the original, far more tragic fairy tale, The Little Mermaid has to sacrifice her voice and ultimately her life, only then to be denied by the prince of her dream. She is thus stuck on Earth with a curse: to do good deeds for mankind for 300 years, in the hope that one day she will rise up to Heaven and become immortal. One may wonder, ‘What price is AP willing to pay?’ ... Taking on the character of a tourist traveling her own country as if for the first time, AP skips and scans her everyday surroundings and reality, making a personal journey through the different sites, cultures and stories that Vietnam has to offer. At first glance it seems that the artist, in a child-like manner, randomly picks out whatever references (whether visual or historical) that feed her imagination, freely turning them upside down and inside out, innocently meshing them together to make her art. Underneath it all, however, with consideration and intention, AP bravely embraces both the possibilities and the problematics of her subjects, and also herself. She does so with sincerity, an open heart, and most importantly, with a yearning to learn about the world around her, and to question her own position in that world. And so, her journey continues... OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

The Facebook of Le Quang Ha - June 29, 2013 June 15, 2013 Lê Quang Hà ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)