HÀ NỘI – Vietnamese sculptor Nguyễn Lập Phương is one of 13 international artists showcasing their artwork at the Kohler Bold. Art. exhibition opening on Friday in Hà Nội.

The exhibition, "Multiculturalism", displays sculptures of 13 artists from the Asia-Pacific and Middle East regions.

Phương’s minimalist-style steel art piece Mẹ Tròn Con Vuông (Safe Child Birth) was inspired by the relationship between the ocean and the octopus.

“In my concept, the octopus symbolises modern artists, who are required to be smart, flexible, adaptable to any cultural and social change and able to work in any multicultural environment. Its long arms are an important organ to absorb information from the ‘multicultural ocean’,” the 28-year-old sculptor explained.   

Consisting of a round and dark-coloured base and a metal round-shaped octopus above, the piece also explores the traditional concept of “Round Sky, Square Earth”, reflecting Vietnamese respect for the heaven and earth.

The female artist also applied silver sheet inlaid, a traditional Vietnamese technique used in making lacquer and ritual items, onto her gilded piece. A layer of natural lacquer (sap of the Rhus succedanea tree), is also used in the work to enhance its gilding inlay.

The Hải Phòng-born artist explained that contrasting elements - steel and silver sheet - represent hard-to-harmonize conflicts in a multicultural context: old–new, traditional–modern, positive–negative, and national identity–global acceptance.

The exhibition includes pieces by artists from Australia, the Chinese mainland, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines and the United Arab Emirates.

Alongside those artworks, the exhibition also honours the winners of the “Art Inspired by Architecture” pattern design challenge that ran in Việt Nam over the last few weeks. Moreover, the event also showcases a collection of the latest Artist Editions lavatories.

This is the second Kohler Bold. Art exhibition in Việt Nam. Last year it featured 12 contemporary sculptures by six rising Asian artists, including Viet Nam’s Nguyễn Ngọc Lâm.

The free exhibition opens until August 17 at 93 Đinh Tiên Hoàng Street. From Hà Nội, the exhibition will travel around the region in 2017 and 2018. – VNS