Entrusted Conjectures - August 6, 2023 June 23, 2023 Phạm Hà Ninh 𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐄𝐃 𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐉𝐄𝐂𝐓𝐔𝐑𝐄𝐒 - an open studio by visual artist Hà Ninh Pham Presenting a new series of ‘sculptures - measuring instruments’ as a part of his on-going project titled ‘My Land’ Opening party: 06.00 PM Friday night, 23 June 2023 On display: 11.00 AM - 07.00 PM from 26 June until 06 August, 2023 (Tue - Sun) How much of our perception of the world is shaped by the way we measure it? Measurement refers to various systems of apparatus, units and rules based on which the uncertainty of value is reduced and can be expressed in a quantity. The standardization in measurement establishes a mutual understanding of quantities, and provides the basic reference for many disciplines. Measurement, thus, is a cornerstone of science, a fundamental step in framing and constructing the world. In ‘Entrusted Conjectures’, we are introduced to a series of handmade instruments of measurement. This is part of ‘My Land’, the multi-year, multi-disciplinary world-building project that Hà Ninh has been working on since 2017. “This territory does not correspond to any known culture in human history. It has its own systems of logic, language, and metrology that are functional only within themselves” (from Hà Ninh’s artist’s statement for ‘My Land’). Based on various materials, the construction of ‘My Land’ expands through two-dimensional drawings, three-dimensional sculptures, story writing and a virtual game. Correspondingly, there are four different “entrances”- four starting points to experience the territory. ‘Entrusted Conjectures’, featuring some realizations of the fictional metrology system provides one of the entry points. Designed and created with a DIY aesthetic, most of the sculptures are crafted from wood, with some few elements completed with tracing paper and 3D printed plastic. Measuring instruments are presented along with the ‘display plates’ recording the data and measuring results, as well as other artifacts which have been interpreted, visualized from the outputs of measurements. The whole body of works proclaims its presence right in the center of the exhibition space and defends its autonomy with a kind of fortification: a dry moat has been dug, precisely surrounding the display area. Outside the moat, on the walls is another type of boundary, a line of sketches positioned at eye level, a vague resemblance to a horizon. ‘Entrusted Conjectures’ suggests reflections on the boundary, on the problem of trust and on the possibilities of a proof and an assumption. By juxtaposing the physicality and materiality implied in sculptures with the functionality of the instruments relied on fictional ideas and principles, an intriguing investigation begins, testing the unreality of the reality / the non-real nature of the word thought to be quantifiable and perceivable. There will come a time when every measurement would be an act of re-measuring; as there always comes a time when people can no longer believe in the results of previous measurements. A continuous process of forming a hypothesis then proving and disproving - that’s how science is built. ‘Entrusted Conjectures’, in this version presented at manzi, is just the first step. Surely we can expect more surprises to come in the future. How far can the artist go in this journey of organizing, interpreting our world and architecting his world? A thoroughly independent scientific and technical system - an alternative definition of reality can be achieved someday, maybe? *The open studio is organized by Manzi Art Space & A+ WORKS of ART ___________________ Measuring the world - random notes >>> read here ARTWORKS GALLERY Artist Statement _______________________________ “My work explores how we construct an understanding of a territory from afar through reported materials. Since 2017, I have been working on a long-term project titled ‘ My Land’ , in which I design a world that does not correspond to any known culture in human history. This project consists of paintings, sculptures, drawing scrolls and video games that represent maps, artifacts, steles and stories of an imagined territory. The territory has its own systems of logic, language, and cosmology that only refer to themselves but are fully functional. I want to see how far I can go in persuading that the territory does exist. I also consider the project as a thought experiment of a phenomenal environment in which the personal experience of any viewer is stripped away. They must completely abandon their invalid cultural legacy in order to navigate this world. The project consists of four Series . They are developed based on different frameworks that correspond to different modes of exploring an unknown land. Series 1 is the spatial mapping of the land. Series 2 is the physical properties of the land and their relationships with the properties of our world. Series 3 is the history of the land written in a language that slips between drawing and writing. Series 4 surrounds a real limited company, My Land ltd., that sells merchandise of the land to the public audience. ‘Entrusted Conjectures ’ features the recent development of Series 2 [Logs ] of my world-building project My Land. After maps (Series 1) and language (Series 3) , I want to make up some science for my world. There will be 15 sculptures. They function as measurement or rendering tools that, I hope, translate the paradoxical space in my drawings into 3D. They go with 40 technical drawings that explain how they work. I also show MY CONVERSATION with some AI engines about my work in the open studio - Hà Ninh Pham 💬 'I ASK AI ABOUT MY SHOW' >>> Click here to read OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Falling into the Horizon - September 15, 2019 August 16, 2019 Quách Huy Bắc The exhibition features Quách Bắc's new series of small sized oil paintings and a site-specific installation on the second floor of manzi art space. The works reflect the artist's observations of absurd circumstances in Vietnam today, which he explores for traces of fear and hidden hopes. Utilising both empty mono-coloured spaces and clearly defined subjects, Bắc provokes a host of emotions with his series of paintings. The figures on the canvas react to their absurd situations as if performing on a stage. By illustrating different aspects of life and a variety of contemporary issues in each of his pieces, regardless of format, Bắc conveys bite-sized satire, a rather pessimistic reading of the human condition and doubt for what modern society can tolerate. Complementing the paintings, Bắc’s site specific installation entitled ‘Valse’ (French for waltz) demonstrates an extremely dark view about the past, which forever endures in the minds of Vietnamese people. ‘Falling into the Horizon’ is Quách Bắc’s 2nd solo exhibition since ‘The Sky of Fame’- his first solo show in Saigon in 2016. ARTWORKS GALLERY “This is how I avoid confrontation with the disappointment of reality. We are decaying in a thousand different ways, are seeing dreams go unfulfilled, wounds that never healed and have therefore lost our faith in an ideal society.” - Quách Bắc talks about his practice process * About 'The Balance' - one of the oil paintings The artwork was inspired by a North Korean propaganda showcase that I came across on the Internet. I picked one particular detail of the showcase - a significant moment, and depicted it by painting: a male performer wearing military uniform with a flag in his hand, doing acrobats on the stage. The movement happens in a flash, as the performer lifts himself and the flag into the air, falls down, then alights. That when the performer tries to maintain balance as he is landing reminds us of the insecurity of symbols/values set in our society. * 'Valse' - a site-specific installation This site specific installation entitled ‘Valse’ (French for waltz) demonstrates an extremely dark view about the past, which forever endures in the minds of Vietnamese people. Within a small, restricted space, a procession of tiny statues of an iconic hero are frozen in the same action. They are on the verge of barging into each other, yet never able to converge. Though capable of only a single gesture, the figures to seem to want to move within the room they have been placed in. Their futile attempts hampered by the furniture that is also present. I gave the imagery the name of a dance to provide harmony – albeit choreographed - for these unpleasing yet earnest figures. For is it not the repetition of all things that makes up the rhythms and melodies of each of our lives? OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Đoàn Xuân Tặng biography Doan Xuan Tang was born in 1977 in Nam Dinh and graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2011. Using oil paint, lacquer and monoprint, his favourite subjects include portraits of people, mountainous landscapes, and nudes. While his mountainous landscape works reflect a sense of desolation and the struggle between man and nature, his nude paintings conveys a sense of harmony between memory and emotion. works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Cloud ĐOÀN XUÂN TẶNG 2018 50 x 50 cm acrylic on canvas Enquire works Lady III ĐOÀN XUÂN TẶNG 2019 22 x 55 cm acrylic on canvas Enquire works Lady I ĐOÀN XUÂN TẶNG 2019 22 x 55 cm acrylic on canvas Enquire works Lady IV ĐOÀN XUÂN TẶNG 2019 22 x 55 cm acrylic on canvas Enquire related what's going on at Manzi

Fading Dream - Disintegrating Realities - August 4, 2014 July 18, 2014 Hà Mạnh Thắng As a preview for his solo show at Thavibu Gallery in Bangkok, Thailand in September 2014, this show presents Ha Manh Thang’s latest creations to Hanoi's audience. Shifting away from portraying urban landscapes with iconic architectures and housings typical of contemporary Vietnam, in his new series of paintings, Thang is exploring with such themes as memories, history and cultural heritages. "...Sometimes I question myself: At the end, to where does art lead us? We work with great effort to make our art newer and fresher, but is that important or is art like a journey that leads back to nature – we go away and then come back to the beginning where we started? All turbulences and changes are part of impermanence. It seems that in both art and life there still exists something like those temples and ruined costumes... The best selection is that by nature – where there are things that we humans can’t control." (Ha Manh Thang) ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Virtual Private Realms - April 19, 2021 March 19, 2021 Lananh Le Din Sama Nguyễn Đức Huy mi-mimi Nghĩa Đặng Trịnh Cẩm Nhi Hà Ninh The exhibition 'Virtual Private Realms’ brings together the works of 7 artists: Lananh Le, Din Sama, Nguyễn Đức Huy, mi-mimi, Nghĩa Đặng, Trịnh Cẩm Nhi, and Hà Ninh, with a focus on their painting practice. Belonging to the 9X (millennial) generation, these artists have contributed to a new wave of practitioners in the Vietnamese art scene. The works in the exhibition, while diverse in style, still share similarities in their visual lexicon: from the use of highly personalized symbols, a dismissive attitude towards macro-narratives, an arrangement of virtual spaces, to a layering of complicated psychological flows - all of which have been flattened, projected, and pinned down on the surface of paintings. ‘Virtual Private Realms' mostly introduces the artists' most recent creations, coupled with experimentation that expand the boundaries of paper, canvas, the act of drawing, and other fundamental elements that constitute the language of painting. This exhibition is organised by Manzi Art Space with support from the Goethe Institut, British Council Vietnam and MoT+++. ARTWORKS GALLERY Curatorial Essay _ by Vân Đỗ & Hà Ninh ### fishbowl-like simulacrum of an inner world containing fragments of personal memory, hybrid animals, dream imagery, wondrous geometry reflecting a state of mind..." Excerpt from Lananh Le’s statement for the digital painting series in the exhibition ‘frozen data’ (MọT+++, 2020) Perhaps it would be fitting to enter the ‘virtual private realm’ of this exhibition through the surreal, ghostly, and immaterial world of Lananh Le. To peer into the mind of this artist friend, whom we missed the chance to meet in real life, we can only rely on images scattered on the Internet or a few exchanges preserved by others from semi-intimate conversations with Lananh. But the most poignant pieces would be the memories retold by Lananh’s friends, those who have spent a part of their lives with her. Lananh usually inundates her ‘canvas’ with unexpected subconscious outbursts. Unpolished and without meticulous calculations of meaning or composition, the symbols in her works resemble oracles from a dream. Fantastic combination of irregular visual choices that constantly shift — objects of dense cultural meanings (chandelier, altar, temples, and bursts), animals that step out from the wilderness (tiger, zebra, lizard, varan, and snake), peculiar brush strokes (that depict faces—both familiar and strange, or a deity that manifests from squiggly lines on grid paper), the symbols in her works function like a kaleidoscope. To convert, categorize, or impose a foreign system (usually language-based) onto these symbols seems to diminish their own sacredness, since they themselves exude a condensed ambience of chaos – a synthesized world swirling and tantalizing in darkness that refuses any explanation. In this exhibition, we are fortunate to be able to introduce safari (2019) and guanyin (2019) , from the series of digital paintings that Lananh once showed at her solo exhibition ‘frozen data’ at MoT+++ in early 2020. While still in pursuit of mental waves that ebb and flow without regulation, her handling of the works in this exhibition somewhat diverged from her usual spontaneous techniques in oil painting, which she juggled with the materials physically on her canvas. Lananh gathered a myriad of materials (photographs, sketches in pencil/pen, watercolor, and oil paint), then cast a digital spell to layer and hybridize them using Photoshop. The end result is a moving-image piece that continues to palpate through a projector, undulating with the exhibition’s opening-closing rhythm. The life of Lananh’s works, thus, perpetually exists in between two states: awake - asleep. In a similar mode of ‘personal myth-making’ is Hà Ninh’s world of maps. Hà Ninh utilizes one of the most mechanical techniques of painting - mark-making/drawing. Yet, in contrast to Lananh, Hà Ninh constructed a world crisscrossed with rules and standards, backed by a complicated lexicon. That world harbors a history (its own past), with its foundation embedded in his long-term project called ‘My Land’ . This is one of the most significant projects with which to embark on that journey for those who are interested in exploring Hà Ninh’s art world. While studying abroad in the USA in 2017 and caught in the chaotic snare of cultural clash and conflicting ideologies, Hà Ninh poured all of his efforts into building ‘My Land’ with the end purpose of having absolute autonomy in the real world, which he felt as if he had limited decision-making power. ‘My Land’ begins with an arbitrary statement: this territory bears no resemblance to any human culture; thus, all standard paradigms in said world will be self-referential and only make sense within the boundaries of its imagined landscape. The exhibition showcases [mothermap] , the backbone of ‘My Land’ , which acts as a compass, guiding the viewers through Hà Ninh’s labyrinth. [mothermap] is updated annually by the artist, partially reflecting the artist’s psychological unfolding and changing perspective during his own transitional periods. Compared to the 2019 version, [mothermap] ’s 2020 iteration marks the shift in landscape construction: from a more logical calculation to a more organic approach. The sky and water have merged, allowing the stars to “swim” freely and deeply into continents, creating an abundance of skyline in each location. Looking at the most updated [mothermap] is akin to participating in a surgery, where the 8x8 grid system is no longer clearly visible, but rather faint points of reference that suggest the relative location of each construction - now transformed into bodily organs. As Hà Ninh shared, this gradual departure from logical reasoning to move toward a more instinctual connection with the work is, in itself a self-soothing process to handle loneliness and human fragility against the infiniteness of space and time. While Hà Ninh and Lananh set up a world densely packed with symbols, Nghĩa Đặng chooses a more condensed and succinct method to codify symbols and include narratives into a pair of paintings not too far (2020) and what’s too far (2020) . The two paintings are drawn with charcoal on paper, one of the fundamental materials of painting, with references to conceptual prototypes - one of the artist’s foci in his practice. Here, two prototypes are present: a pair of bulls and what the artist calls ‘father-thing’(*) --- (*) According to the artist, ‘father-thing’, a word borrowed from philosopher Slavoj Žižek and psychotherapist Sigmund Freud, is a purely visual existence that is hard to explain. ‘Father-thing’ stems from the subconscious, or an illogical reproduction of dreamlike or fear-induced images. Žižek used ‘father-thing’ in his book ‘The Plague of Fantasies’ , alluding to the desire for complete control as well as Oedipus complex, feeling of guilt, and the dominant tendency of the masculinity embodied by the paternal figure, where he is seen as a phantom that imposes himself upon external subjects such as the mother or the son --- Upon closer look, we are hit with the feelings that things are not the way they seem. At the center of not too far, a scene where a female bull is nursing its cub, seems to reveal another primal aspect; the lush greenery, which creates the illusion of ancient forest, is in fact indoor plants (banana-leaf pothos, snake plant, pencil cactus, etc.). Even the paper canvas, seemingly intact, is actually a collage of paper units, a remnant of a stream-of-consciousness experiment with piecing apart - binding together. The illusion of an ‘outside world’ continues eluding the seeker, who wishes to understand, explain, and control it, since ‘the natural world’ out there is no longer nearby. Extending his private concern with construction of societal roles, as well as the continuous tug-of war between masculinity and femininity, Nghĩa Đặng “plants” an imaginary garden through intertextual practice, freely connecting his inspirations from poetry and personal memories, to archival photography and people who have cast a shadow upon his subconscious. Trịnh Cẩm Nhi too draws inspiration from ‘nature’, the central images of her paintings’ universe — a universe half surrealist (reminiscent of Giorgio de Chirico) half abstract (possessing the air of Hilma af Klint) — are flowers, the female figure, and finely-sliced spaces. Fluctuating elegantly between imagination and the senses, between careful calculation and unforeseeable sensations from the physical body, Nhi timely captures the emotions that come to her. She projects her sensitive spirit, records the complex movements of the psyche, transforms them into objects, and arranges them into the polished spaces of an eternal museum. Seemingly concealed beneath her canvas is a humble feminist perspective. With soft curves and sweetly-colored palette, the floral figures and the female body in Nhi’s paintings exude sensuality, yet it is not the sexualized sensuality where women are objects to be drawn/gazed at. The female figure in her works does not abide with anatomical ratios or conventional standards of beauty upheld by society. Regardless of whether she looks demurely at the viewers, or turns her back completely to avoid strangers’ gawk, she still proudly displays her body. Similarly, Nhi’s flowers also delicately allude to the female reproductive organs. Despite the dreamy tones, the ambience inside Trịnh Cẩm Nhi’s painting is neither romantic nor mystical: it is not a space of obsession, but rather one of uncertain narratives spun by a calm storyteller. There exists a natural confidence in the way Nhi works with spaces that are disturbed, disjointed, splintered, and OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Beyond The Hills - October 2, 2017 September 8, 2017 Lê Hoàng Bích Phượng Marking her return to silk work after a deviation to ceramics stems, in ‘Beyond The Hills’, Phuong shows a series of delicate silk paintings and a minimalist installation, dealing with the question about concepts of self consciousness, time and personal space --- “he took his last breath and he was gone. I wondered what was going on - did he ever think about what he wanted to do in life for himself? Or was it just to raise the children and make money for the family? At that moment – as everyone was gathered - I saw this landscape, a full moon, above the forest.” - Le Hoang Bich Phuong – Ho Chi Minh City, August 2017, speaking about the moment her grandfather passed a month earlier. This dreamscape which materialised in front of Le Hoang Bich Phuong’s inner eye the moment her grandfather passed away is the subject of the delicate silk works that comprise ‘Beyond The Hills’ – a deeply personal series, rooted in her exploration of the Buddhist lineage she comes from. The new series is underpinned with spirituality that deals with the question that surfaced when she looked into how notions of self, space and meaning are created– where am I me? And in the context of her grandfather’s death: Where Are you between the before and after? What do you experience? How long does it last? What Le Hoang Bich Phuong attempts to comprehend and capture in her work are concepts of time and space that are in their very nature fleeting and cannot be contained (the present moment) or reached (the horizon). She says of the horizons she paints: “It’s a line, a surface and it is the space where mindfulness lives.” And the same goes for the present moment, “here is tomorrow, here is yesterday and here is now which belongs to nowhere.” The horizons painted in simple shapes, clean lines and colour choices are a figment of her imagination - a destination that can only be reached in one's mind. And though this place is meant as a space for the mind and the self to rest, the artist is also depicts the disruptions of a state of mindfulness in a way that is subtle yet significant – they render the soft purple (spirit) of her perfect space red (anger), abstract triangles turn from hills into spikes penetrating the full moon and there is a grotesque underworld eating away at the foundation of pristine landscapes. The Buddhist teaching that suffering is a part of life and to strive towards enlightenment is a quest to be liberated from suffering is present in the work: “How do we accept death and the circle of life and nirvana? You accept that you have to keep living. One afterlife after another, and your accepting that is mindfulness.” (Le Hoang Bich Phuong, Ho Chi Minh City, August 2017) Le Hoang Bich Phuong’s return to silk work after a deviation to ceramic stems from her discovery that her painting practice is a form of meditation. She paints slowly and calms down, turning to her work in moments of anger to see the emotion transformed. As with her self-portrait in the series, which too is rooted in her being forced out of her personal space by spats with and provocations from those closest to her. But in painting the emotions dissipate, only to enter the next cycle of calm followed by emotional upheaval. “When the emotion changes, the plan I had had, like an angry painting, whichshould be ugly turns pretty and gentle. Sometimes I stop there. Can you freeze a moment in time when painting is the thing that makes it evaporate?” (Le Hoang Bich Phuong, Ho Chi Minh City, August 2017) In its entirety ‘Beyond The Hills’ is deeply personal work both in subject and its production by an artist ready to listen to her intuition. Article written for the exhibition by Fabiola Büchele *This event is part of Manzi’s art programme supported by CDEF of the Danish Embassy in Vietnam ARTWORKS GALLERY BEYOND THE HILLS - ARTIST STATEMENT “‘Beyond the Hills’ is a journal of reflections of my most recent personal experiences. Experiences that include the flashes of lighting of loss and the faint remnants of life and death. These works compose a chapter of my psychological diary illustrated during the process of making the exhibition. Also present is the fierce protest of my inner core against a sudden intrusion by another individual of my personal space. My reaction was so strong and all encompassing that even a faint breath of the intruder could boil up my frustration. My raw sense of self and need for being undisturbed coincided with the passing of a member of my family. At the instance of death I was speechless and drifted into dreams where hills, the moon, and layers of grass appeared. In this series, I present all of these intangible emotions and experiences in the form of dreamscapes and shapes that provide a visual record of invisible concepts. I was intrigued by figures and forms subject to the rule of energetic regulations like the planets in our solar system - all of them in orbit around a particular centre that imposes limitations forcing them to trace rings. I believed that the proportions of these rings possess a source of energy that in turn protect the core that binds them. If individuals were to be at the centre of such systems of interconnectedness each individual universe would differ in proportion and trajectory – much like a mandala. Various cultures and scholars have used the concept of mandalas to display an individual’s universe in miniature. The perimeters of such a universe attracts thoughts and energies to gravitate towards its core, while at the same time defining a border which an intruder or visitor crosses when moving into an individual’s personal space. Whether the reaction is to welcome or to expulse and the change in attitude or emotion of the host largely depends on the pace of invasion. So close are the notions of private and public space in relation to the self that the elasticity of the spherical boundary allows the intrusion to a certain degree before determining whether to expel the invader. Each individual is a universe, shaped by the discovery of one’s own great cosmos. The protecting rings are increasingly contoured as you encounter other universes and define your ego in relation to them. And for one individual to penetrate the core of another he or she must overcome a lot of personality rings only to discover that each of them is made from the same materials as the rest of the galaxy. *** About the installation work INVADERS The installation represents an individual cosmos with rings around its centre. Limits are defined on the same plane and reflect all the layers covering the core. This personal space is arranged with the same structure as the solar system, with inner and outer rings, the sizes of which rely on each how the work is encapsulated in the exhibition space and how each individual viewer decides to interact with it. And with any intrusion the first steps into the circle is recorded and an alarm is sent to the core. The recurring depiction of a horizon in my works represents a space between heaven and earth that belongs to neither- it is ‘today’, as it sits between ‘yesterday’ and ‘tomorrow’ but can never be captured. The horizon reflects and senses all intrusion and all personal characteristics revolve around it without favouring of either day or night. It is here, at this unreachable place that I found shelter, a space free from the obligation of making a choice. Nestling in that space, I can be present in two worlds, without a sense of belonging to either. And it is here that the dream of my grandfather lives, one that I saw as he slipped from life. I stood on the landscape that materialised in front of me and promised myself that I would capture the image in paintings. MANDALA The mandala in my work is narrowed in scope than the images it is based on, which include Jung’s personality chart, Buddhist mandalas and the structure of planets in the solar system. There are parallels among inspirations from science, spirituality and human psychology, but my mandala refers only to the labyrinth at the depth of my psyche, which is at once a tranquil oasis and a room with so many doorways and directions that it is likely I will eventually lock myself in and shut myself away in the room of my own mind. Though from a different perspective, this may enable me to discover a brand new skyline shaped both by surroundings factors and inner conceptions at that particular moment. The self thus is a mandala reflecting itself and the other worlds it encounters. I am who I am, exactly as stipulated in DNA, but I realized I also hold the key to happiness in the centre of each cell in my body. OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Another Crossing - July 5, 2019 June 7, 2019 Bảo Vương ‘ANOTHER CROSSING' by visual artist Bao Vuong features his latest series of paintings and a durational performance. Born in Vietnam by the end of the 1970's, Bao Vuong's family fled from Vietnam when he was one year old on a boat like thousands of boat people leaving the country in this period of time. The series of paintings in ANOTHER CROSSING is a projection of the nights in the open seas spent out by his family on the run, the same nights that hundreds of thousands of refugees have lived through the centuries and still know each day. Forsaken in the dark, without no a clue. Darkness increases imminent death and swallows those that have sacrificed and lost everything worth living. Black paint awakens fears associated with the exile, while reflections of light on the paint strokes represent shimmers of hope that give birth to a survival instinct, echoing the promise for a better world. The performance piece by Bao Vuong in the exhibition entitled "Nước"/Water is a creation of a graphic work in situ, which started on the first day of the exhibition and ended four days later. Five days locked, deprived of contact, without food, relying only on the goodwill of the sky to hydrate. The whole performance was broadcasted live on Manzi's Facebook page. ARTWORKS GALLERY “Huge is the night that governs us. It weighs on our hearts at dusk, when the shadows lengthen. It's not always easy to have Vietnam as a legacy.” 1. “The Crossing VII” --- I wonder how far you have to relive the drama to exorcise it. Bao Vuong’s paintings of the series “THE CROSSING” are totally black. They are both realistic and abstract. The conductive thread of this series is a projection of a trauma, a projection of the nights in the open seas spent by his family on the run, the same nights that hundreds of thousands of refugees have lived by the past and are still living in different parts of the world. Here in “The Crossing VII”,the infinite black sky meets the immensity of the sea. The shipwrecked man feels even more lost and humble before such a spectacle, he is invaded by an unspeakable feeling of loneliness. 2. Series of 4 oils paintings entitled “The Crossing XIII” – “Night 1 – 4” "The Crossing XIII - Đêm" is a projection of the artist’s traumatic story. 4 paintings for the 4 nights at sea. Texture of the paintings is sometimes fluid, sometimes dry and rough. The frozen waves are like a bad scar that does not want to be healed and is still itchy. 3. The Crossing XII --- One day there is a crossing. A boat launched on the sea to escape the unspeakable. For those who are fleeing, there are no words. There is a deep wound: that of having to leave everything. That of facing unknown immensities at the risk of their lives. And then there are months of wandering, from camps to camps. The ocean is an impassable gulf. A dark place where the dead disappear without tombs. An abyss of ghosts. Similar to other paintings of “THE CROSSING” series, the artist used black oil paint and completed with a handmade knife work. However, here the sea is smooth and the waves seem like boats: thousands of waves, thousands of boats, and eventually thousands of souls. Those waves of boats are sailing to an unidentified dream but a new promise of life. Each "wave boat" is made with a single, strong stroke of a knife. They are like the decision to leave, radical and definitive. Like a knife planted in the heart. 4. “Untitled” ---I wonder how far you have to play with death to finally learn to live, to breathe normally Here is a basic pencil drawing on paper. It represents the sea, the horizon and the sky. However, during the creative process, a hole was made in the middle of the drawing and we can see through. This drawing is placed between two pieces of very thin transparent glass. The drawing and the two transparent pieces are suspended in the air, attached by a set of black adhesive tape, two transparent fishing wires connect the installation with the ceiling. Any light breeze or any movement of visitors would make this installation swing. The work looks so fragile as if it is going to fall down; this fragility may give visitors a feeling of discomfort. --- How many shipwrecks have fallen and drowned in the immensity of the water, who will never reach their destination ... 5. Performance “Nước “ 5 days – 4 nights from the 07/06/19 7pm to 11/06/19 6.30pm Bao Vuong's performance is entitled "Nước" : a creation of a graphic work in situ, which starts on the first day of the exhibition and ends 4 days later. Almost 5 days locked and deprived of contact, without food, relying only on the goodwill of the sky to hydrate. It will be a kind of long invocation, an ultimate test, to remember, to be closer to the memory of his parents, and the two hundred people with whom they shared a boat, of their suffering, those of all the boatpeople and all the migrants. It is for him a necessity, an extreme act to understand, to relive and to question, to create. I asked my mother what state of mind she was on the boat at that time. She said she was not scared or sad. She couldn’t think of anything. She was just thirsty. My first word as a child I pronounced, it was on the boat. This first word was « nước » (water) Because our eyes have not cried, because our hearts did not give up, because they escaped that hell, I carry their destiny in me. “As a witness, a smuggler of memory, as an artist, I speak for those who cannot speak, those who have no voice or words to say the unspeakable, to say what is buried in them. Like someone who is a novelist, director or lecturer, I tell by visual art, my story, that of my family, that of thousands and thousands torn people. But it is also an endless journey, that of migrants throughout the world. Since 2014, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded nearly 17,000 deaths and missing in the Mediterranean, including 5773 migrants whose bodies were found. The problems of borders and exile will be even more central issues in the near future with global warming and the displacement of thousands or even millions of people who will be deprived of agrarian land or whose places of life have been invaded by waters. This performance is for me a moment of spiritual retreat, a cut off from daily reality. It is an artistic meditative act; I create a work that consists of lines more or less straight. A visual Buddhist "ohm" in a refound silence. This performance is finally an act of ecological commitment. Our society is a society of excessive consumption; the having is more glorified than the being. Hyperconsumption becomes a duty and in the end a permanent dissatisfaction. While by this artistic gesture, that is a non gesture, I show that it is totally possible to live with nothing.” - Bảo Vương (Hanoi, June 2019) OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

...undone... - October 31, 2017 October 6, 2017 Nguyễn Trần Nam The adjective 'undone' contains a host of possible meanings - distraught, fallen apart, unfinished, unaccomplished, ruined, destroyed – encompassing the uncanny nature of Nguyen Tran Nam’s most recent series of work. The lacquer paintings mark a return to a medium from Nam’s formal training at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (graduated 2003) after a lengthy stint producing a diverse body of multimedia work as one of Hanoi’s second-wave of contemporary artists, yet his aesthetic and subjects continue in the vein of his more experimental work. Dark and heavy, the series’ brutal beauty reveals the artist’s concern with both the dead and the living and portrays his obsession with the ruins of landscapes and life. Forming an imaginary realm unbound by truth, time or place, these are images of chases, riots, crushed faces prostrating on the streets, someone’s shadow just gliding through the darkness on the other side of a door. The depictions seem to pass by without reason, no beginning or ending, no explanation. And we humans are left to doubtfully wonder about moments of insecurity in the past, and realise that they are not individual points in time but a permanent presence, that we have been and will always be stuck in. For Nguyen Tran Nam, drawing is a kind of journaling process, during which he unconsciously chronicles the ambiguity drifting in his mind as a result of stories he has heard, experiences he has been through and the character of life as well as philosophical metaphors, a general state of absurdity and obsessions with literature and poetry or myths. And whether these fragments of his mind were recorded accidentally or noted down intentionally, in the end they come together to turn into an untitled disorder that resembles an everlasting instant without beginning or ending *This is part of Manzi’s art programme supported by CDEF of the Danish Embassy in Vietnam. ARTWORKS GALLERY THE HAMMER SPEAKS (by Nietzsche) Translation by Water Kaufmann THE VIKING PRESS, 1951. “Why so hard?” the kitchen coal once said to the diamond. “After all, are we not close kin?” Why so soft? O my brothers, thus I ask you: are you not after all my brothers? Why so soft, so pliant and yielding? Why is there so much denial, self-denial, in your hearts? So little destiny in your eyes? And if you do not want to be destinies and inexorable ones, how can you one day [2] triumpth with me? And if your hardness does not wish to flash and cut and cut through, how can you one day create with me? For all creators are hard. And it must seem blessedness to you to impress your hand on millennia as on wax, Blessedness to write on the will of millennia as on bronze – harder than bronze, nobler than bronze. Only the noblest is altogether hard. This new tablet, O my brothers, I place over you: become hard! OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Current Archive Forthcoming Current we are currently preparing for the next exhibition please visit again soon Current Forthcoming we have no forthcoming exhibition please visit again soon Forthcoming Artists Exhibitions Current Forthcoming Archive Programs & Events Art For You Into Thin Air Gallery About Archive Archive

I will come to see you with a visual story - March 23, 2014 March 19, 2014 Trần Trọng Vũ Images and languages are used as tools for human expression. They both are often being put together and sometime act as integral part of each other in order to bring multi-meanings & answers for an object. Read the images and see the words, write a picture and draw and essay – we can call these the jobs of both art-makers and art-enjoyers. Read the images with words might be a fascinating way to break away from the images. Search for images in words can also be a nice suggestion to go beyond the words. ‘I will come to see you with a visual story’ will show to the audience the first part of Trần Trọng Vũ’s new art project, in which language and visual aspect are results of a series of extraordinary facts. This visit will also introduce other artworks of the project under the possible forms of litrature and visual art. ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Lam - January 11, 2016 December 12, 2015 Lê Quý Tông 'True Blue' - marking Le Quy Tong's return after 7 years - is the result of years of working in silence and marks a clear departure from the artist’s previous interest. Tong last exhibited in 2008, and has since been experimenting with new techniques and themes previously absent from his practice, making each research an inquiry into fine art's most traditional medium - painting. The resulting body of work thus announces more than just a comeback; it marks a revitalizing chapter in Tong's practice and fortifies his position as one of Hanoi’s most dedicated and resilient creative forces. True Blue sees Le Quy Tong experiment with a hybrid of painting, decorated pattern and found imagery. Each of the works takes its starting point from photographic documentations of significant political meetings that influenced the course of history. The images - sourced from historical archives and mass media - have been taken out of their original contexts and appropriated, dissected and reassembled into something new and uncanny, making it difficult to decipher between the make-believe, the manipulated and the genuine. Together, they highlight the generic features of all meetings - big halls filled with hefty chairs, grand tables and elaborate chandeliers; men deep in discussion or signing papers. An air of ceremony lingers even when all content and context are stripped away. Once a photograph found its way onto the artist’s canvas, he employed a number of editing devices such us pixilating, blurring and pattern overlaying. Each of the gloomy, cool and blue-colored finished collages is the accumulation of countless layers of paint, visual motif and imagery, which have been applied, erased, smoothened, scratched and piled on top of each other. Displayed together, they provoke a sense of glamorous nostalgia and contribute to a distinctively elegant style and rhythm, reinforced by a shared perspective, composition and treatment of paint and imagery. As figures and shadows sink and rise, visual cues disappear and become, textures, forms and colors part and merge, recognisable events and times in history are rendered an illusion. But what seems to be specific could allude to any place and any time in any history. Déja vu! What appears before us is familiar to the eyes, yet the mind cannot identify why. Have we seen these imageries before? What do we see when we look at a singular photographic depiction of an event? What about the missing people, voices and actions in history that existed outside the realm of a single frame and evidence? The construction of history and memory, or rather the construction of history and memory through photographic documentation, is called into question, and its limitations are revealed. Is the blurred meant to be forgotten, or hidden? Do the overlays introduce alternative narratives, or sugarcoat darker ones? Does the pixilation highlight individual elements, or obscure something and dismantle the whole? What happens when an image is used in a place and time other than where and when it was intended for? What does this act of displacement do to the final works? Does it inform our knowledge and reinforce our trust in photographic documentation? Or does it lay bare the ability to use it to tell lies, falsify reality and shape our perception with seeming evidence? With his systematic, yet intuitive, ordered but open-ended, labour-intensive methodology, Le Quy Tong presents us with an alternative space to engage with the real and the imagined, the authentic and the fabricated, by erasing the illusive borders that separate them. The blue color palette which connects all the series’ pieces evokes a deeply sad and unsettling atmosphere, which reflects the mood at the basis of the work. The color also stands for loyalty and a commitment to truth – a perfect contrast to the deceptive nature of those concepts as revealed in True Blue. ARTWORKS GALLERY OPENING NIGHT See more about artist(s)

Romain Orfeuvre biography Romain is a young architect who graduated in 2007 from the National Architecture School of Toulouse in France. He is specialised in urban and cultural heritage and sustainable development. In 2004, he was commissioned by the city of Toulouse to support the local authorities of Hanoi for the protection of the urban heritage of the 36 guilds streets of Hanoi through surveys, regulations, restoration of houses, temples, pagodas, streets and the building of a heritage centre. Especially fond of Hanoi and its miscellaneous heritage - both tangible and intangible, present nd past - Romain aims to present another view of this mostly hidden heritage through his works. works This artist currently has no available work at Manzi works Hanoi Old Quarter - 36 old streets & guilds - Citadel East Gate neighborhood 19th century ROMAIN ORFEUVRE 2014 80 x 60 cm screen printing on dzo paper Enquire works Cau Go Bridge Landscape, 19th Century ROMAIN ORFEUVRE 2014 80 x 60 cm screen printing on dzo paper Enquire related what's going on at Manzi