The artwork appears to be a library book return card for the Dr. Seuss book "The Cat in the Hat". The visual elements consist of a simple black-and-white design with the book's title prominently displayed. The subject matter is the iconic library book return card, filled with handwritten dates and annotations, suggesting the book's circulation history. The artistic style and technique are minimalistic, with the focus on the pragmatic function of the library card format. The context indicates this is a historical artifact, likely from the mid-20th century when the Dr. Seuss book was popular and widely circulated through libraries. ...
“My work examines structures of power in their myriad forms, making attempt to scrutinize the soft foundation upon which contemporary life plays out, often behind the façade of fairness, sincerity, security, tradition, and civility.”
Often employing humor while at other times engaging sober reflection, Trong Gia Nguyen’s work elevates the condition of doubt and reveals the power structures behind our most trusted institutions and beliefs as they relate to the dynamics of domesticity, culture, politics, and economy. Self-reflexive by nature, Nguyen’s methods question the status quo through subtle modes of subversion and interruption. On the flipside, it is an aesthetically pessimistic vantage point, one of retreat that espouses a dimension of decadence, at the expense of charlatanism. Whether taking the form of sculpture, painting, iPhone applications, film, or web-based performance actions, Nguyen’s conceptual approach walks the fine line between joy and sorrow, subtlety and blatancy, night and light, and beauty and beast. ...
Recognized as Vietnam’s leading contemporary art gallery, Galerie Quynh has been promoting contemporary art practice in the country for over two decades. The gallery is known internationally for its consistently focused programming and educational initiatives. Working with a select group of emerging, mid-career and established Vietnamese artists, the gallery also exhibits the work of distinguished artists from around the world. In keeping with its mission to develop a sustainable ecosystem for the arts in Vietnam, the gallery collaborates with artists, curators, museums and art spaces locally and internationally to organize talks and lectures as well as to produce publications in English and Vietnamese. In May 2014 the gallery founded the not-for-profit educational initiative Sao La directed by artists Tung Mai and Nguyen Kim To Lan. Sao La has since evolved into an independent artist collective spearheaded by To Lan and Dalat-based artist Nguyen Duc Dat. In summer 2020 with support from the Goethe-Institut, the gallery launched the not-for-profit CáRô, an educational initiative that provides art education for students aged 13 – 18 who show demonstrative interest in the arts. ...
