the world as a draft: Do Thanh Lang & Nguyen Duc Dat

2 November - 7 December 2024
Overview
Do Thanh Lang, Untitled, 2024
Do Thanh Lang, Untitled, 2024
Galerie Quynh is pleased to present the world as a draft – an exhibition of new work by Do Thanh Lang and Nguyen Duc Dat, two seminal members of the art collective Sao La.
 
For two weeks in spring 2017, Sao La took over the former Dong Khoi location of the gallery to realize NGUCHONOBAY – an exhibition, activations, accidents and happenings that transformed the gallery literally into a living space. The creative community converged on the gallery to socialize, laugh, argue, experiment, sleep, dance, wash hair, look at art and engage in general human behavior; the artist-run Cu Ru Bar made very potent, local cocktails; the Onion Cellar hosted Jonas Mekas’ 5-hour visual poem As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty and curated free musical performances that brought together musicians from different scenes. Friendships were formed while some relationships broke; art was made, and some art broke.
 
I remember hugs on staircases.
I remember a mosquito net fluttering in the gallery courtyard.
I remember one of the Nguchonobay works having the shape (but not the texture) of a giant rat skin spread out on the floor, not unlike a carpet, in front of an old-school television.
I remember playing live with Rắn Cạp Đuôi at the opening reception for NCNB, where a great deal of things happened, including meeting Zach for the first time.
I remember whatever it was that Sunny’s piece was made of starting to give a foul smell the day after the opening.
I remember lying down on the floor of the gallery with a high fever and a party unfolding all around.
I remember stray cats, including one that regularly went into the gallery courtyard to do its business.
I remember taking a nap in the gallery courtyard after closing time as it started to rain.

(re-ordered)
excerpt from The use of memorial devices by Tran Duy Hung,
former Project Manager at Galerie Quynh
Hanoi, October 2024
 
In the world as a draft, the spirit of scrappy improvisation in NGUCHONOBAY is ever present: neon green leveling lasers crisscross walls; a make-shift conveyor belt clacking rhythmically but effectively transporting artworks; art is suspended by a rope pulley in a loungey, window-less room replete with cushions and a fake banana plant; cotton, nylon and PVC curtains are placed here and there depending on the need. The focus is not on polish but about making things work with what is at hand. This reflects the resourcefulness of the culture here – making can be an act of survival.
 
Do’s paintings take us to ambiguous places inhabited by anonymous characters often engaged in some sort of absurdity; sometimes violent or disturbing acts of transgression play out. Seemingly playful scenes unfold against a backdrop of bright colors and shiny surfaces. Do Thanh Lang often finds visual sources from the internet and news media and then transposes the images to imagined (non)locales. The scenes are not as whimsical as they initially seem but are filled with a tension that seeps through the layers of paint and resin.
 
While Do’s paintings communicate a sense of cool detachment, Nguyen Duc Dat’s works are more emotional and visceral. Everyday (offline) life, moments of beauty and strangeness in the world, and global socio-political conflicts are depicted with a rawness that moves between tragicomedy and honest, profound storytelling.
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