Manh Hung Nguyen

Manh Hung Nguyen (Vietnam, b. 1976) creates art that reflects comical situations arising from the rapid yet piecemeal processes of domestic urbanization and modernization. As a multi- disciplinary artist, he is equally at ease painting as he is creating large-scale installations and exploring sound art. Nguyen’s particular realist style encompasses a distinctive sense of playfulness and humor that sets him apart from previous generations of artists. As the son of a jet fighter pilot, he draws on the personal in his paintings of aircraft. Depicting military equipment combined with oversized grocery items or working for rice harvest, Hung’s surreal scenes humorously morph a symbol of destruction with conduits of hope, benevolence and joy. In 2007, Nguyen received an Asian Cultural Council Fellowship to study contemporary art and electronic music, and to undertake new creative work in the United States. He was also the former art director of Nha San Studio from 2008 to 2011, now Nha San Collective, a leading nonprofit artist-led space for contemporary art in Hanoi.

Courtesy of the Asian Cultural Council