The Tortoise and The Crane Bird with A Journey Painting

Artist Statement / Tran Dan Tran Dan studied architecture in university, but turned his artistic career into lacquer, and self learned painting and sculpture.His primal media is lacquer yet he works widely from painting to installation, video, photography, and performance. One of Tran's interests is to find a broader possibility of lacquer medium. In Vietnam, lacquer has been one of the most representative traditional and modern arts of Vietnam which has a typical concept, subject, and technique. Typical is as said so, because how artists use lacquer in creating a painting and what they draw (motif) have been not so much practiced, experimented, nor studied. Nonetheless, Tran finds a possibility of lacquer beyond just traditional painting, and is keen to develop its form and art output further: lacquer with/as mix-material paintings/sculptures or (video) installations. While there is no support for contemporary artists from Vietnamese official and governmental institutions, Tran has worked with many foreign cultural institutions in Vietnam such as Denmark, French, German, and Japan, and it broadened his art practice beyond painting such as that he made experimental videos and performances about human consciousness, dream, Vietnamese culture, and foods. He opened an independent art space and organized/directed programs for local artists and international artists. While he is currently working individually, he is still interested in organizing a program and inviting international artists in any future
TRAN DAN trandanvisualart@gmail.com / www.danvietartstudio.blogspot.com / www.facebook.com/trandanvisualart