ENTRUSTING TO EMPTINESS: KÝ THÁC HƯ KHÔNG I WIKING SALON CENTEC TOWER

The duo exhibition Entrusting to Emptiness by artists Tôn Thất Minh Nhật and Tuyền Nguyễn features more than twenty-five  works on lacquer and silk, which reveal the the traces of movement, memory, and heritage existing in the artists’ creative practice 

The exhibition space is divided into two contrasting segments, one side which allows Tuyền Nguyễn to construct a labyrinth from his memories, while the other enables Tôn Thất Minh Nhật to open doors that draw viewers into moments of profound silence.

Building upon the idea from the 2023 solo exhibition Huyền Tượng at Huyền Art House, Tuyền Nguyễn continues his attempt to to trace his dreams, but this time leaving behind his characteristic large canvases for  smaller silk frames. Adapting to the changes in his studio space over the past year, this presents both a challenge and a deliberate choice for the artist. The In fluctuance series transports personal reflections and narratives into another dimension, where the artist uncovers a path behind the translucent screen, with layered colours that evoke a movement through space and time. The figures are halfway between emerging and fading, coexisting amongst dreams and past memories. Energy is forged, compressed and burst onto the canvas like long-held dreams that have swelled in the mind, now flowing out to fill every empty space. These double-sided paintings are hung alternately, resembling slices of memory that form into a labyrinth of illusions. 

In contrast to Tuyền Nguyễn's layered maze of colour, Tôn Thất Minh Nhật’s series of lacquer paintings hang quietly on the walls, as windows into the artist’ state of mind, harmonising with the cyclical rhythms of rain and sun, night and day. Following the success of his 2024 solo exhibition Time, Illuminated at Galerie BAQ, Paris, the artist continues to draw references from the architectural language of temples, communal houses, and royal structures in Huế, where he resides. Stripping away the intricate details typically seen on traditional lacquer surfaces, the artist emphasises the depth that each layer of black lacquer possesses, creating the illusion that the viewer is gazing at a small pond. For Tôn Thất Minh Nhật, the practice of lacquer painting is both a meditative ritual as well as a way to capture the movements of his surrounding environment. Each piece is titled in the allegorical style of traditional Chinese ink wash painting shuǐ-mò (水墨), where images of nature are subtly used as metaphors for human emotions. 

Entrusting to Emptiness is a journey with countless entry points but no definite end. The two practices, placed side by side, are like the two halves of yin and yang, contrasting yet completing each other. Viewers immerse themselves in the necessary voids to contemplate the endless cycle of existence, where humans are but finite beings. In this emptiness, another beginning will emerge…