Detail: Private view: 28th August

The Museum of East Asian Art’s upcoming exhibition “From the Land of Hidden Charm: Contemporary Paintings from Vietnam” showcases some of modern Vietnam’s best talent from a substantial cross-section of work by artists with international reputations, many of whom have never been seen in the UK before. The exhibition will be open from the 1st of September to the 6th of December 2009.
Painting has traditionally been a neglected art form in the genres of Vietnamese art. Unlike their counterparts elsewhere in Asia, Vietnamese Buddhist monks and Confucian literati showed little interest in the subject matter. On the contrary, the history of Vietnamese art since the end of the 19th century is a history of painting which, over a century of East-West acculturation, fundamental social and economic change, and several decades of war, has become the strongest form of art in Vietnam.
This modern history of Vietnamese painting can be divided into three important phases: the Indochina School (1925-1945), the Socialist Realism school (1945 -1985) and the Doi Moi (renovation) art movement (since 1985). This exhibition focuses mainly on the later of the three movements. In the last two decades, young Vietnamese artists have taken advantage of their country’s Doi Moi (renovation policy) to refuse the rules of socialist realism and its monotony of style, form of expression and topic. They turned instead to their country’s rich pre-colonial heritage to revisit traditional themes or explored contemporary issues such as woman in society, globalisation, alienation and ecological issues. In addition, new styles of art have been embraced – pop art, installations, performance and video. Vietnamese Doi Moi art has become the show-room of Vietnam in a new age of free market economy and cultural globalisation.
From the Land of Hidden Charm: Contemporary Paintings from Vietnam is a collaborative exhibition between the Museum of East Asian Art and Oc-Eo Art. The Museum of East Asian Art, opened in 1993, houses one of the most extensive collections of East Asian art outside London. With a collection of almost 2,000 objects, ranging in date from c.5000 BC to the present day, the Museum offers its visitors a wonderful insight into the art and cultures of China, Japan, Korea and Southeast Asia.
Launched in October 2006 by Peter Quintana, Oc-Eo Art has rapidly become a leading specialist in contemporary painting from Vietnam, introducing work by both established and emerging artists. Oc-Eo Art regularly exhibits in London, Bath and Harrogate.