The Artist

1973 Bac Ninh Vietnam

Shortly after graduating from the Vietnam Fine Arts University, Hanoi in 1996, Nguyen Nghia Cuong soon distinguished himself as a very independent iconic artist of the absurd. Many of Cuong’s early works are done atop newsprint advertisements, a gesture which intentionally illustrates just how much the daily life of the Vietnamese is dependent on commerce in today’s Vietnam. Cuong’s work is playful and delights in the everyday absurdities of development while retaining a distinctly reverent Vietnamese flair. A walk through the works of Cuong leaves one feeling young, happy and full of life. Perhaps this is one of art’s most powerful missions, to transform one to another world where the sorrows and vicissitudes of life are forgotten and all that remains is the joy of the moment.

Cuong has moved into oil and acrylic painting on canvas, a transition that demonstrates his skill as an artist as he adapts the medium to explore his unique style and satirically amusing subject matter. Humorous and playful, the works continue to point out the contradictions and paradoxes of life as the country rapidly develops and joins the global economy. H is for Hanoi is a children’s book about Vietnam published by ThingsAsian Press, Hong Kong. Cuong was commissioned to create 30 works of art that are used as the illustrations for the book. Amusing and playful, these illustrations capture the traditions and life of the Vietnamese.

Cuong has exhibited widely in Vietnam and internationally, continuing to delight all with his marvelous wit and critical observations of the absurdity in life.