Biography

Phan Thảo Nguyên is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses painting, installation and ‘theatrical fields’, including what she calls performance gesture and moving images. Through literature, philosophy and daily life, Phan observes ambiguous issues in social convention, history and tradition.

Phan has exhibited widely in Vietnam and abroad, with solo and group exhibitions at Gemäldegalerie, Berlin (2018); Dhaka Art Summit (2018); Para Site, Hong Kong (2018); Factory Contemporary Art Centre, Ho Chi Minh City (2017); Nha San Collective, Hanoi (2017); Bétonsalon, Paris (2016); Goethe-Institut, Hanoi (2015); Canvas Art International, Amsterdam (2014); Institute for Contemporary Arts Singapore (2014) and Bangkok Art and Culture Centre (2013), among others. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of the Samdani Art Foundation, Dhaka; Kamel Lazaar Foundation, Tunis and Post Vidai, Vietnamese Art Collection, Ho Chi Minh City.

Phan participated in the Rolex Mentor and Protégé Arts Initiative with mentor Joan Jonas (2016–2017) and has also completed residencies at Botín Foundation, Santander, Spain (2016); NTU Centre for Contemporary Art, Singapore (2016) and the Sàn Art Laboratory artist-in-residency programme, Ho Chi Minh City (2013). She was awarded a grant by the Cultural Development and Exchange Fund, Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam, Hanoi (2014).

In addition to her work as a multimedia artist, she is a co-founder of the collective Art Labor, which explores cross disciplinary practices and develops art projects that benefit the local community.

Phan received a Bachelor of Fine Arts (with first class honours) from Lasalle College of Arts, Singapore (2009) and a Master of Fine Arts in Painting and Drawing from the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (2013). She was born in 1987 in Ho Chi Minh City, where she continues to live and work.

SAF participation:
Sharjah Biennial 14

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Phan Thảo Nguyên

Mute Grain (2019)

In Phan Thảo Nguyên’s work, the Vietnamese countryside is a dreamscape in which cultural and political histories play out.