Skip to main content
Want more images or videos?
Request additional images or videos from the seller
1 of 11

Truong Tan
"Living" Lacquer on Wood Contemporary Figurative Painting

2008

About the Item

‘Living’ is a medium size contemporary lacquer on wood figurative painting created by Vietnamese artist Truong Tan in 2008. Drawing from his own identity and exploring perceptions of homosexuality in a traditional conservative milieu, Truong Tan depicts here on a textured golden background adorned with a series of discreetly outlined men, various grouping of stylized men, some of them wearing long skirts, moving towards one another, all extending one of their arms forward in a begging / compassionate manner. The river that crosses the lower part of the composition creates the necessary contrast to allow our eye to capture the various scenes of the painting. As an openly gay artist, Truong Tan has long fought for the opportunity to exhibit his art whose overarching theme relates to his homosexuality. His unique artistic perspective is rooted in his struggles to maintain and express his sexuality in a sexually repressed society. The mix between a traditional technique, lacquer on wood, and a modern style, is intended to challenge our understanding of identity and freedom of expression. With its striking palette featuring gold, red, blue and black tones, the purity of its lines and its deep subject matter, this unframed lacquer on wood figurative unframed painting will be a strong focal point in any room, whether placed above a sofa, console table or chest-of-drawers. Truong Tan was born in 1963 and graduated from the University of Fine Arts, Hanoi in 1989. As an artist, Truong Tan is known above all for his erotic references to his sexuality, making use of his autobiographical experiences, perceptions and feelings to mark his artistic narrative. His departure from the University where he served as a lecturer until 1997, was largely due to his challenging art that openly expressed his gayness and questioned the contradictions of the then implemented economic liberalization policy or Doi Moi. By rejecting the more conservative assumption of art that were being adopted by his peers, Truong Tan moved to Paris under a grant from the Cité Internationale des Arts. Despite his reputation as the enfant terrible of the time, Truong Tan has today emerged as one of Vietnam’s most internationally acclaimed artists with his art as part of the permanent collections of major art museums that include the Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, Japan, the Queensland Art Gallery, Australia and the Singapore Art Museum. He has been a participant of numerous biennials in Asia and Europe. Truong Tan lives and works in Paris as well as in Hanoi. Truong Tan's works were selected for an Asian exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York in February, 2013.
  • Creator:
    Truong Tan (1963, Vietnamese)
  • Creation Year:
    2008
  • Dimensions:
    Height: 32 in (81.28 cm)Width: 40 in (101.6 cm)
  • Medium:
  • Movement & Style:
  • Period:
  • Condition:
  • Gallery Location:
    Rye, NY
  • Reference Number:
    Seller: 2262.51stDibs: LU425313072172

More From This Seller

View All
"Beyond The Time" Figurative Painting
By Truong Tan
Located in Rye, NY
Truong Tan currently lives and works in both Hanoi and Paris. Truong Tan was born in 1963 and graduated in 1989 from the University of Fine Arts in Hanoi, Vietnam. Truong Tan’s uniqu...
Category

Early 2000s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Lacquer, Wood Panel

'Clouds Within Clouds I' Abstract Cubist Painting
By Nguyen The Hung
Located in Rye, NY
Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Lacquer, Oil

'Clouds and Shadows I' Abstract-Expressionist Painting, Black Gold
By Nguyen The Hung
Located in Rye, NY
Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Lacquer, Oil

'Land of the Sleepwalker 05', Cubist Painting with Golds, Pinks, Blacks & Blues
By Nguyen The Hung
Located in Rye, NY
‘Land of the Sleepwalker 05’ is a large horizontal contemporary lacquer on wood panel “abstract figurative” painting created by Vietnamese artist Nguyen The Hung in 2017. Featuring a palette made of a variety of colors such as brown, red, black, yellow, blue and green accentuated with gold leaf, the painting presents a format that has a faux-air of Guernica revised by Miró. Painted on a dotted ground, two characters walk among a variety of creatures. We are in the land of the sleepwalker after all… Curves are perfectly balanced by straight lines; light browns oppose themselves to blacks and petite fluffy clouds seem to be falling on the ground. Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Canvas, Lacquer, Oil

'Autumn Clouds No. 1'
By Nguyen The Hung
Located in Rye, NY
‘Autumn Clouds No1’ is a large “abstract figurative” contemporary lacquer on wood panel painting of vertical format, created by Vietnamese artist Nguyen The Hung in 2017. Featuring a palette made of a variety of colors such as black, red, blue and green accentuated with gold leaf, this unframed painting exudes a surrealistic feel that would have made a Joan Miró proud. Painted on a dotted gold, dark green and black ground, a trapezoidal character is facing us. His head, reminiscent of medieval jesters and painted in yellow and red, has a cubist flair. Colorful clouds seem to be falling down the character’s garment and adorn the upper sections of the piece, while scintillating stars accentuate the rest of the composition. Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Lacquer, Canvas, Oil

'Land of the Sleepwalker 06' Cubist Painting Gold Leaf, Red, Blue
By Nguyen The Hung
Located in Rye, NY
Colorful wandering clouds in Hung’s works are inspired by traditional cloud ornaments from Vietnam’s ancient citadels and temples. Those ancient ornaments act like a negative version of clouds wandering throughout the space of the pieces. They link together to create a limbo world, where matters become vague and surreal. Another level lies underneath, hiding deep below the clouds the artist has created realms of consciousness and thoughts. Hung, joyful and relaxed, plays around with his dots. Silver dots, golden dots, together they light up the atmosphere to create a passive aura. Ornamental clouds, or simply just dots, they move from one shape to another, unsettled trying to find a logical order for themselves to fit in therefore challenging viewers’ senses. The order of signs creates spaces of uncertainties and invalidities, where the artist’s stories would be tied together and unfold. Silently, the artist submerges himself into an imaginative valley with no boundaries of shapes, strokes, and of random visual connections. The dreamy artist tries to hold on to his childhood memories, from straw scarecrows, late afternoon birds, handmade kites, boys looking after horses in mountain...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Lacquer, Canvas, Oil

You May Also Like

Qing Dynasty Floral Bed Canopy Painting
Located in Chicago, IL
Thoughts of a long, happy life greeted the young couple who gazed up from their bed on this canopy panel. Adorned with chrysanthemums and peaches, both symbols of longevity, the lyri...
Category

19th Century Qing Figurative Paintings

Materials

Paint, Wood Panel, Lacquer

Beyond Nicolas Kennett 21st Century British painting character skyscape black
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on wood panel Signed on the back
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Osprey Nicolas Kennett 21st Century British painting bird of prey animal sky
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on wood panel Signed on the back
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Hanging Nicolas Kennett 21st Century British painting landscape tree flowers sky
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on wood panel Signed on the back "Incanto" or the enchantment of shifting "Nicolas Kennett revisits the organic world through painted and sculpted matter. He oscillates b...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Eclipse Nicolas Kennett 21st Century British painting animal blue wild mystery
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on wood panel Signed on the back "Incanto" or the enchantment of shifting "Nicolas Kennett revisits the organic world through painted and s...
Category

2010s Contemporary Figurative Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Incanto Nicolas Kennett 21st Century Bristish painting landscape cave animal
Located in Paris, FR
Oil paint on wood panel Signed on the back "Incanto" or the enchantment of shifting "Nicolas Kennett revisits the organic world through painted and s...
Category

2010s Contemporary Landscape Paintings

Materials

Oil, Wood Panel

Recently Viewed

View All