HÀ NỘI — An exhibition of contemporary works and archival material by the Gang of Five, a group of the country’s top artists, opened in Hà Nội on Saturday.

The group, including painters Hồng Việt Dũng, Hà Trí Hiếu, Đặng Xuân Hòa, Trần Lương and Phạm Quang Vinh, hold an esteemed position in the history of fine art in Việt Nam’s post-đổi mới (renewal) era. They emerged in the early 80’s as Việt Nam was struggling to rebuild after decades of war.

A painting by Đặng Xuân Hòa entitled A New Morning.

The exhibition, jointly held by the Art Vietnam Salon Gallery and the Japan Foundation Asia Centre, is being curated by Lê Thuận Uyên and is designed to celebrate their achievements and honour their place in Vietnamese art history. The exhibition is being held at the Việt Nam Feature Film Studio. 

It also includes a collection of archival materials highlighting their aesthetic development and the unique environment in which they created, said Suzanne Lecht, director of the Art Vietnam Salon Gallery, where the original copies of archival materials owned by collectors worldwide will be displayed. 

A painting by Hà Trí Hiếu entitled Memory of the War.

The exhibition will be accompanied by weekly curatorial tours that will take visitors through the exhibition venue, to Art Vietnam Salon Gallery and to the artists’ studios.

The tour schedules will be announced in the coming days and those wishing to attend must sign up by sending an email to info@artvietnamgallery.com.

A catalog of the exhibition sponsored by the Hà Nội Goethe Institut and ThingsAsian Press Hong Kong will be available by the end of the year.

A painting by Trần Lương entitled Black Blue Night Life.

“Known for creating bold, distinctive works, depicting personal conceptions that departed from the socialist realist imposition of the previous generation of artists, they began to gain attention and started exhibiting abroad in the early 90’s,” said Lecht.

Their first joint exhibition was in 1990, and they adopted the name Gang of Five in a 1993 exhibition.

A painting by Phạm Quang Vinh entitled Artists and Model.

Invitations to exhibit abroad in Hong Kong, the Netherlands, and in New York quickly followed as the world recognised the emergence of a culture previously hidden from world view.

The exhibition will run until November 19 at the Việt Nam Feature Film Studio, 4 Thuỵ Khuê Street, Hà Nội. The Art Vietnam Salon Gallery is located at 2, Alley 66, Yên Lạc Street. — VNS