Tran Luong

The first international survey exhibition of Vietnamese contemporary artist Trần Lương.

Spanning painting, installation, performance, community engagement and institution-making, the exhibition delves into the life of an artist who, over the last thirty years, has played a significant role in supporting critical contemporary art in Vietnam—a context with little public infrastructure for artmaking and display, and continued limits on artistic expression.

From his early career as a painter in the 1980s, the exhibition traces Trần’s shift towards performance and conceptual art, following the opening up of Vietnam’s economy to global trade, as well as his subsequent efforts to work collaboratively with communities. Throughout, Trần has worked actively to build spaces for experimentation, education and sharing, and to enhance exchange between Vietnam and the wider Southeast Asian region.

Tầm Tã – Soaked in the Long Rain is the first significant presentation of Trần’s work in Australia. The exhibition offers insight into the artist’s multifaceted life and practice; shaped by political and social transitions in Vietnam, and the many roles he continues to play—as activist, curator, facilitator, archivist and mentor.

This exhibition is curated by Biljana Ciric and co-organised by Art Jameel, the Govett-Brewster Art Gallery | Len Lye Centre and The Art Gallery of Western Australia.