The art space of Nguyen Van He’s Art Barracks, owned by the contemporary artist Nguyen Van He, is located in Kim Son Village, Thuy Bang commune, Hue City, and officially opened its doors to art-loving audiences to appreciate the artworks on the evening of November 6th.

This space covers an area of more than 1,300 square meters with a living house and a workshop, which Nguyen Van He created with the four materials, including American aluminum sheets, iron poles, metal sheets, and plywood.

At the opening of this space, Nguyen Van He introduced dozens of his artworks including installations, sculptures, paintings, and sketches from 2014 to the present day.

Noteworthy is the series of works on the themes of “Folding Airplanes” and “Games”. These are works conceived from the memories of an artist born and raised in the Hoa My war zone. When folding paper airplanes for his children, the artist suddenly remembered his childhood, when simple games were intertwined with physical and spiritual pain caused by the post-war landmine detection to earn a living. With his perseverance, Nguyen Van He has collected every fragment and every remaining pain on this sorrowful land to transform them into the soul and materials for his artworks.

In this space, viewers can also see the plywood boards from the war era that He has polished, cut and shaped into folds like clumsy paper, forming a new pictorial language in the three-dimensional space. The traces of war seem to be at a standstill in every stroke of red paint, the golden lines under the brown paint, the metallic luster from the silver inlay, or the mottled black lacquer patches, like the oil scent of machine hidden in the fibers of the army plywood. Through this, the artist conveys his message: Accompanying the physical losses of war is the permanent loss of an innocent childhood.

A large crowd of the public and art enthusiasts visit the art space of Nguyen Van He’s Art Barracks

The family theme is one of the hallmarks and highlights in the artistic practice of artist Nguyen Van He that the public has welcomed on this exhibition occasion. A series of works he painted from 2016 to 2022 revolve around his beloved wife and two children. These are moments and genuine emotions of family life. In this space, viewers will enjoy a slow-down moment when witnessing the portraits of his children with the simple but emotionally rich beauty of a father’s love for his family, the portrait of his wife with a sense of intimacy, honoring and appreciating the beauty of the most important woman.

Nguyen Van He believes that for him, the house is not only a living space but also an artistic space, where he nurtures and expresses his love for his wife and children through each brushstroke, creating a simple and emotionally rich home.

Nguyen Van He, 43 years old, a graduate of the Hue University of Arts, is a contemporary artist. Born and raised in the post-war period, he expresses a deep interest in the memories and remnants of wartime and always explores the emotions and reflections of the succeeding generations about the cycle of conflicts and wars. With this theme, his practice spans from painting, sculpture, and performance to installation. He persistently collects fragments and scrap materials from military war zones or local ruins.

From 2009 to 2013, he frequently participated in experiments with leading artists in Hue, Ho Chi Minh City, and Hanoi, and expanded his practice with international artists visiting Vietnam or when he had the opportunity to go abroad. For him, creating with various art forms and materials is a stroll, where he seeks the best way to express his ideas.