Tiếng Việt
Lê Thừa Tiến
The Artist
1964 Hue Vietnam
Le Thua Tien is one of the few contemporary Vietnamese artists who has addressed the American War in his work. His work tends to be more conceptual than many other Vietnamese artists of his generation and he is continually exploring new mediums and means of expression. His diverse art practice includes paintings, installation, experimentation with sculpture and community-based art projects. The direction of Tien’s paintings changed from figurative to abstract when he arrived at the Rijks Academy in Amsterdam in 1995. His more recent works are mixed media and lacquer and can be considered as symbolic, using a traditional Vietnamese medium in very new and innovative ways.
Tien’s Reflection Series is an exceptional use of the traditional medium of Vietnam. The artist has composed a series of mirrored surfaced works with layer upon layer of lacquer impregnated with architectural fragments; fabric, silver leaf, incense and found objects as fragments of time and memory. The surfaces are reflective through their glossy surface, softened by the remnants of textured layers of time-honored objects. Gazing at these works entices the viewer to look closely, examining each work in an attempt to discover the meaning within, reflecting on their own memory as a natural response.
This regression into memory, longing, and searching for a deeper meaning has long been the impetus that moves Tien’s melancholy expression. Mixing media and symbology Tien veils and unveils in his attempt to portray the passage of time and what remains, the imprints that one cannot forget, that plague our dreams and occupy our consciousness. The works are haunting in their fragile, weathered beauty filling the atmosphere with a reverence for time past, for lives lived, loves lost.
Tien’s works have been exhibited in the United States, Thailand, Holland, France, Germany, Venezuela, Japan and Australia. He has also attended many international artist residency programs continuing to explore a universal language of reflective expression. A former teacher at the Vietnam Fine Arts University in Hue, Tien now devotes his time solely to his art practice.
From the wild west of Montana to the eastern shores.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
Silent Whisperings
2018
Salon Art Vietnam, Hanoi
The Globe, Meta House, (German-Cambodian Cultural Center)
2011
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
MFA Exhibition
2009
Casula Powerhouse Arts Center, Sydney NSW. Australia
Hues of Hue
2007
Fielding Lecht Gallery, Austin, Texas, USA
Reflections
2006
Art Vietnam Gallery, Hanoi, Vietnam
Vietnam – The Fossilized War, installation (video clips, plaster figures)
1998
Emmanuel College, Boston, MA, USA
Monumentalite in Time
1995
Gallery Amber/East-West Foundation, Leiden, The Netherlands
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
L’Infini du Miroir
2018
L’Espace, Hanoi
Foliage
2017
Vingroup Center of Contemporary Art, Hanoi, Vietnam
Kenpoku Art 2016
2016
Ibaraki Prefecture, Japan
Victoria’s Gallery
2015
Paris, France
Daklak Arts Center
2013
Buon Ma Thuot City, Vietnam
Continuing Conversations – Meta House 5 Year Show
2012
Phnom Penh, Cambodia
Nam Bang
2009
Casula Powerhouse Arts Center / Liverpool Arts Museum, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
I LOVE PHO
2008
Casula Powerhouse Arts Center / Liverpool Arts Museum, Liverpool, New South Wales, Australia
Gabriel Gallery, Footscray Community Arts Centre, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
Field of Dreams, origami installation, collaboration with Nerine Martini, Songlines Arts Festival
2006
Blue Mountains, NSW, Australia
Malaysian–Vietnamese Contemporary Arts
Hoi Tu
2005
Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam
Vietnam Today
2004
Gallery Amber and Gallery Caro / East-West Foundation, Leiden, The Netherlands
Open Studios, ARCUS Project 2003
2003
Ibaraki, Japan
Liquid International, workshop and exhibition
Hue Arts Festival 2002
2002
Long Hai and Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam
Hue, Vietnam
Horas, paintings & installation exhibition
2001
Caracas, Venezuela
The Five Hue Artists
2000
Song Huong Gallery, Hue, Vietnam
Things We Carry: Revisioning Vietnam (installation, photography) with Sally Packard, An-My Lê, Le Thua Tien
1999
North Texas University Art Gallery, Texas, USA
Meeting Point 98
Gap Vietnam
1998
Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum & Hanoi Fine Arts College, Vietnam
House of World Cultures, Berlin, Germany
Vietnam–Thailand Contemporary Arts Exhibition, Hue and Hanoi, Vietnam
Le Thua Tien – Phan Cam Thuong
1997
Gallery Julian Scott Memorial, Johnson, Vermont, USA
From Red River to Mekong: New Trends in Vietnam
1997
Centre Wallonie, Bruxelles, Belgium; Paris, France
1 + 1 (Le Thua Tien – Bradford Edwards)
1997
Blue Space Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, Vietnam
Open Studio
Arts and Image ’95
1995
Rijksakademie, Amsterdam, Holland
Grote Kerk, The Hague, Holland
Franco–Vietnamese Cultural Festival
1992
Hue, Vietnam & Paris, France
National Fine Arts Exhibition
1998
Hanoi, Vietnam
AWARDS AND SCHOLARSHIPS
Vermont Studio Center Fellowship
2015
Vermont, USA
Heinrich Böll Foundation Grant
2011
Chinatown Arts Space – SUSTAIN Sculpture Project
2011
London, UK (Final shortlist)
Signature Art Prize (2nd Asia Pacific Triennial)
2011
Asia Pacific Breweries Foundation / Singapore Art Museum, Singapore (Shortlisted)
Endeavour International Postgraduate Research Scholarship / University International Postgraduate Award (EIPRS/UIPA)
2007
University of New South Wales, Australia
Asian Cultural Council Grant – Research grant for Japan (US–Japan Arts Program)
2003
Freeman Asian Artist Award
1997 – 1998
Scholarship from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs / Development Cooperation
1995 – 1996
The Netherlands
Årberg–UNESCO Fellowship
1995
The Netherlands
MEMBERSHIPS
Vietnam Fine Arts Association
