Tran Dan

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, Vietnam...

EDUCATION
2003 – 2006 Architecture University, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
2005 – 2007 Phu Thanh Nguyen Studio (lacquer painting), Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
EXPERIENCE
March 2009 – Present Freelance artist / Art dealer for paintings
June 2012 – October 2012
Co-organizer and Art director at Tokyo x Hanoi x Art (a collaborative contemporary art project between young and emerging Japanese and Vietnamese artists) - Supported by The Japan Foundation Center for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam Grant - / Hanoi, Vietnam
January 2012 – June 2012
Founder and Art director at NameArtSpace / Hanoi, Vietnam
March 2008 – February 2009
Founder and Director at Dan Viet Art Studio / HCMC, Vietnam
-Setting and designing for opening the lacquer studio
-Art dealer for lacquer paintings
-Building and developing the “Open Residence Artist Studio” project
April 2007 – November 2007
Reporter, Designer, and Editor at Vietnam Digital Television at HCMC Center / HCMC, Vietnam -Worked for TV commercials and shows
October 2006 – March 2007 Studio designer at BHD Film Studio / HCMC, Vietnam
April 2006 – September 2006 Wood sculpture designer at Truong Thanh Furniture Company / HCMC, Vietnam
April 2003 – March 2006 Seller at Phuc An Fashion Company / ...

SOLO EXHIBITIONS
June 2012 – "Women and Flowers" / Lacquer pantings and Installation / Solo exhibition at 87 Ma May (the Antique House) / Hanoi, Vietnam
January 2008 – “The Blue Sleeping City” / Video and Installation / Solo exhibition at Institut Français de Hanoï – L'Espace - Centre Culturel Français (L'espace:French Cultural Center) / Hanoi, Vietnam
December 2006 – “Sleep Walking City” / Painting and Video / Solo exhibition at Mai’s Gallery / HCMC, Vietnam
January 2006 – “Pink Color Space” / Video Installation / Solo exhibition / HCMC, Vietnam
SOLO PERFORMANCE
November 2007 – “Dream” / Dance Performance / Contemporary Dance Competition at Youth Opera House sponsored by Culture Development and Exchange Fund (CDEF) of the Embassy of Denmark in Vietnam / Hanoi, Vietnam
GROUP EXHIBITIONS & PERFORMANCE
September 2013 – “ Góc Nhìn”/ Video Art / Art Exhibition Project at New Space Arts Foundation/ Hue city.Vietnam
July 2013 – The first exhibition by Vietnamese “Son Ta” Artist Group/ Lacquer Paintings/ Group Exhibition at Vietnam Fine Art Museum/ Hanoi,Vietnam
November 2012 –”Mot, Hai, Ba (1,2,3)” / Lacquer Paintings / Group exhibition at Mai Gallery (Art Talk Cafe) / Hanoi, Vietnam
October 2012 – “Tokyo x Hanoi x Art” (a col...