The Artist

1946 – 2009 Hanoi

Vu Dan Tan is considered one of the most important contemporary Vietnamese artists from the 1980’s. The self-taught artist, together with his wife Natalia Kraevskaia, founded Salon Natasha in the 1990’s, the first private experimental creative art space in Hanoi. Tan’s studio as well as their home, Salon Natasha became the iconic meeting place for all intellectuals, artists, writers, musicians, and travelers seeking an alternative expression of the status quo.

Tan has always been in a world of one. A multi-disciplined artist working in any medium imaginable, the artist is known for his unique and intriguing artistry of applying recycled and everyday materials to his works, reappropriating carton boxes, old LP records, cigarette and whisky boxes, to create magical creations of an alternate universe of animals and all manner of creatures. The artist was also very involved in the world of sound and performance, creating several innovative collaborations with local and international artists and musicians.

His money series, created over a period of nearly a decade from 1994 onwards gives voice to a celebration of cultures and interconnections with Tan’s classic irony and wit, pointing to the humanism and free spirit of the artist with his subtle reminders of the most important issues of life and spirit.

In 1996 Vu Dan Tan was invited to exhibit in the 2nd Asia Pacific Triennial in Brisbane, Australia where he presented his iconic angels and monsters made from cigarette boxes and cardboard bodices of Venus.

Tan’s works have been widely exhibited in Vietnam and internationally in Australia, Finland, France, Germany, Japan, Singapore, Turkey and the USA.

His works are in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, the Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia, The National Gallery Singapore, and the State Gallery of Fine Art in Astrakhan and Penze Russia among others.