The Artist

Veronika Radulovic first came to Hanoi in the early 1990’s to study Vietnamese lacquer art. From 1994 to 2005 she was the first international lecturer at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Hanoi sponsored by DAAD (German Academic Exchange Service). Working in cooperation with various institutions and museums in Germany, she served as an important link between German and Vietnamese contemporary art, and curated several major exhibitions, including: Lacquer, Earth, Stone at the Museum für Lackkunst Münster, Germany (sponsored by BASF, 1995); the Gap Vietnam Project at the House of the World Culture Berlin, Germany 1998; the Project Ryllega Berlin at the Volksbühne Berlin 2008; and the exhibition at the ifa Gallery Berlin, Germany (Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen) Connect: Kunstszene Vietnam 2009-2010.

In 2006, she published her book: Sicherheitsabstand (Safe Distance) Vietnam. Kunst. Politik. Freundschaften. Eine Annäherung), a personal account of the development of contemporary art in Vietnam from the early 1990’s to today.

2010-2011, in cooperation with the Goethe Institute Hanoi and with support from the Berlin Senate, Radulovich initiated and conducted with Andreas Schmidt the OPEN ACADEMY in Hanoi, Hue and Ho Chi Minh City. With her many years of teaching and her extensive activities in Hanoi and Vietnam, Veronika Radulovic is considered one of the most important pioneers in the development of the contemporary art scene in Vietnam.

In 2022, a culmination of years of writing and research activity emerged in the artists’ latest publication, Don’t Call it Art, co-authored with Annette Bhagwati, a stunning publication that covers the emergence of contemporary art in Vietnam from 1993-1999.

Hanoi, Hang Manh 2000

This photograph is a classic image of the beauty of this ancient city in the dark stillness of the night.