Vietnamese Art Galleries - The Epicenter Of Vietnamese Art

Vietnamese modern art is a rising force in theVietnamese art has become a center of
world of fine arts. And Vietnamese art galleriesattraction. Indeed, Vietnamese art works in the
have played, and are still playing, a major role inlast decade have been increasingly sought after
this new surge of international enthusiasm aroundby foreign collectors and art lovers. Exhibitions of
Vietnamese art. Let's take a closer look at thecontemporary Vietnamese art are being organized
immense contribution of Vietnamese art galleriesin Hong Kong, Singapore, Japan, Australia, France,
to the widespread popularity of VietnameseGermany, Great Britain, Belgium, Switzerland,
modern art.Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Holland, USA,
The genesis of the current popularity ofArgentina and more.
Vietnamese art can be traced back to theA Vietnamese art gallery is probably the best
beginning of the last decade of the last century. Itplace to get acquainted with this new école.
is during this time that Vietnamese art in generalIn most parts of the art world, the life of an
and contemporary Vietnamese art in particularartist tends to revolve around art galleries.
have started to emerge from a state of virtuallyVietnamese art galleries are no exception.
no recognition and anonymity to have its say onRecognition comes easy for an artist if he or she
the world's art scene. For long, scholars andsucceeds in displaying a work in a reputed gallery.
researchers from the Occident were prone toThis simple philosophy has led to the fervent
dismiss Vietnamese culture as a wan replica ofpopulating of many Vietnamese art galleries with
Chinese or a mishmash of French-Chinese-Indianthe best samples from one's repertoire.
cultures. That Vietnam owes much to those greatThe owner of a reputed Vietnamese art gallery
civilizations is undeniable, but it in no way meansoften plays a significant role in launching and
that Vietnamese culture is a mere product ofpromoting artists. He may weave engrossing,
mimicry. It is safe to say that what has enabledmostly fictional but sometimes true stories around
Vietnam to survive as a nation through anthem. Seasoned art lovers, however, will usually
aggregate thousand-odd years of foreignlook past the hype, negotiate hard and
domination is that she has known how to digestsometimes get very good prices by going directly
foreign influences and incorporate theirto the artists.
quintessence into her own culture.One can easily conclude that art is big business in
It is not surprising then that Vietnamese modernVietnam. Fine Arts have found an all new
art today exhibits a happy knack of mixingcommercial lease of life. Vietnamese art gallery
Western techniques with a rich traditionalowners today talk of selling individual works for
sensibility. Thematically, Vietnamese modern arttens of thousands of dollars, and some are
has stayed close to the nation's tradition andfinancing frequent trips to the United States,
cultural heritage, drawing inspiration from localEurope, and Asian cities such as Hong Kong,
festivals, age-old traditions, peasant life and otherSingapore and Tokyo. Paintings that sold for less
local variety. In these days, when people arethan $50 even ten years ago, are now fetching
speaking of an identity crisis in Asian art,more than $50,000.