Skip to main content


The French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici 
Presents

DANH VO 
& 
CHUNG GA OPLA 

We The People (detail), (2011-2013) - Photo Nils Klinger

The solo exhibition of Danh Vo – Chung ga opla at Villa Medici from 11 January to 10 February 2013 – is the second in a series of exhibitions focusing on the theme of Academia curated by Alessandro Rabottini.

Born in 1975 in Saigon, Danh Vo has affirmed himself in only a few years as one of the most original voices in the International artistic panorama, thanks to the variety of idioms with which he treats the great themes of history - colonialism, economic and cultural imperialism, the relations between East and West and war - from a personal point of view.

His work combines autobiography with the narration of great events, thus disintegrating the great division between History and personal history, between the dimension of individual experience and the horizon of world events.  

At the age of four, Danh Vo and his family escaped from Vietnam to find refuge in Denmark, following the historical events involving his native country as well as his own family. War, the subdivision of ex-Indochina, the French conquest and conversion to Catholicism… these and other collective traumas are omnipresent in Danh Vo’s work: a constant fusion between past and present, violence and poetry, destruction and transformation.

We The People (detail), (2011-2013) - Photo Nils Klinger


In his installations of objets trouvés and manipulated objects, the artist develops a formal idiom with references to post-minimalist art and Arte Povera, ethnographic and archaeological museology, commercial display and theatrical space.

On the occasion of his exhibition at Villa Medici, Danh Vo will create a series of installations in collaboration with members of his family.  The intimacy of this situation contrasts with the monumentality of the context that plays host to the exhibition: a fusion of everyday life with the official character amplified by the title.  Chung ga opla, is the phonetic translation of the Vietnamese expression indicating « sunny side up» eggs (in French « œufs au plat »). It evokes the image of morning food-sharing as a ritual celebrating unity.

The exhibition at Villa Medici will mix existing works with new pieces expressly created for this unprecedented project conceived specifically for the French Academy in Rome.

The exhibition Danh Vo - Chung ga opla is part of a cycle of three personal exhibitions that constitute an extension of the Teatro delle Esposizioni #3, which took place at Villa Medici in June and October of 2012. This cycle investigates the concept of Academy as a symbolic space where the idea of the presumed neutrality of art is superimposed on the concept of National identity and within which the dimensions of history, tradition, politics and culture come together.

The three artists involved in the project - each with his personal idiom - investigate the History of Art conceived as an area crossed by multiple forces: political ideologies, economic events, dominant historical narrations repressed by collective consciousness.

The exhibition Danh Vo - Chung ga opla follows Patrizio Di Massimo’s project The Lustful Turk (23 November – 16 December) and anticipates the solo show of Victor Man planned for the end of June 2013.

Bowditch Alphabet, 2010 - Photo Nils Klinger

This cycle of exhibitions explores the concept of Accademia in its multiple meanings interlacing historical, aesthetical and political reflections. 

Indeed, in recent years the international artistic debate has concentrated on a series of themes related to the processes of education and transmission of knowledge, the survival of ideologies of the past in the world of today and the possibility that visual art can work as an area where progress and anachronism can melt together.  Thus the concept of Accademia becomes a prism in which it is possible to manifest the opportunities and contradictions of our times in relation to tradition.  The figure of the Academy can, therefore, be explored as a physical, cultural and metaphoric site where the transmission of specific artistic knowledge bears a more complex history, consisting of a world vision which evokes, more or less explicitly, the traumas of history and the repression of ideology.

Danh Vo (1975, Saigon, Vietnam.) who lives and works in Berlin and New York, has recently  won the prestigious Hugo Boss Prize (2012). Part of the award consists in a solo exhibition at the Guggenheim Museum in New York scheduled in March 2013. Also forthcoming in 2013: solo shows of the artist at the Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris and at the Museion in Bolzano.  Solo exhibitions have also been dedicated to Danh Vo in prestigious institutes such as the Renaissance Society in Chicago, the National Gallery in Copenhagen, the Kunsthaus Bregenz (all in 2012); the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel (2011); the Kunsthalle Fridericianum in Kassel (2011); the Kunsthalle in Basel  (2009) and the  Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam (2008).


DANH VO, CHUNG GA OPLA 
French Academy in Rome - Villa Medici
curated by Alessandro Rabottini
Opening 10 January 2013
h 6.30 pm - 8.30 pm 
Grandes Galeries
Viale Trinità dei Monti 1, Rome
www.villamedici.it
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In Conversation with Talia Shire

She has immortalized two of the most memorable characters in American cinema and now she’s promoting her new film that mirrors issues facing the working class. Talia Shire became a household name in the 1970s with her role as Connie Corleone in "The Godfather" and Adrian Balboa in "Rocky"– two characters that went on to experience tremendous growth in the sequels of both films.  Shire and her brother, collaborator and director Francis Ford Coppola grew up in a family that embraced the arts. Their father Carmine Coppola was a renowned flutist and composer. He often took his children on the road when he performed. So there was always that creative energy and sense of adventure present in their childhood and adolescent years.  “What you have to understand is that Francis is probably the greatest writer. He and Mario (Puzo) did Shakespeare and the Greeks. So people who love "The Godfather" are really listening to literature. He went on and did what ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Alessandro Gassmann: Born to Act

Alessandro Gassmannin his directorial debut "Razzabastarda" Alessandro Gassmann is the son of the iconic Italian actor/director Vittorio Gassman and French actress Juliette Mayniel. He was born in 1965 and grew up around cinema royalty.  He made his cinema debut in 1982 at the age of 17 in his father's autobiographical film, "Di padre in figlio." He went on to study his craft under his father's direction at the Theatre Workshop of Florence.  Vittorio Gassman was very active in theater and seemed just as comfortable on stage as he did in front of the camera. Known for his powerful interpretations of Dante's "Inferno" and "Paradiso," it is no surprise that he nurtured his son's acting aspirations on stage before he launched his career in television and film. One of Gassmann's strong qualities, which he undoubtedly inherited from his father is his incredible range and ease in going from genre to genre. He can play ...
Post a Comment
Read more

A Conversation with Sergio Castellitto

Sergio Castellitto has made a profound impact on world cinema, both in front of and behind the camera. Born in Rome in 1953, Castellitto graduated from film school in 1978 and credits American cinema with pushing him toward a career in acting. His work has garnered numerous accolades, mostly because of his immersive, original approach to projects in film, television and theatre. Castellitto is fluent in French and English, which have contributed mightily to his international stardom. But it's the actor's trademark brown eyes and charming everyman qualities that have lent his various characters -- even the ones that are rough around the edges-- an air of dignity other actors might not have achieved. Sergio Castellitto and Margaret Mazzantini, 2005 Castellitto made his film debut in 1981, and just two years later found himself working alongside Marcello Mastroianni and French actress Anouk Aimée in "Il generale dell'armata morte."    Films such as ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Federico Fellini: A Look into the Life and Career of an Icon

A Fellini family portrait  “The term became a common word to describe something on the surface you can say is bizarre or strange, but actually is really like a painter working on a film,” said Martin Scorsese when asked to define “Felliniesque,” an adjective inspired by one of the greatest filmmakers of all time. The oldest of three children, Federico Fellini was born in the seaside town of Rimini in 1920. His father was a traveling salesman, so his mother was left to do the bulk of raising the children. One can argue that Fellini was born for his destiny. “You could tell that even as a child, he was different and unique. He was very intelligent, well above average. He was always the one to organize things, direct the others, make up games. He could control the other kids with just a look, said Fellini’s sister, Maddalena, in an interview with journalist Gideon Bachmann.  Not only was Fellini directing the children, but he was also putting on shows and charging ...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Extraordinary Career and Legacy of Dino De Laurentiis

Producer Dino De Laurentiis was one of the most prolific filmmakers ever, having produced or co-produced more than 600 films during a career that spanned seven decades. His legacy continues not only through the work of his children and grandchildren but also through a new generation of filmmakers in his Italian hometown. De Laurentiis was born in the shadow of Mount Vesuvius on Aug. 8, 1919, in the city of Torre Annunziata, located just minutes from the ruins of Pompeii. As a child, he worked at a local pasta factory owned and operated by his father. That experience had a profound effect on him, shaping a lifelong passion for food and an appreciation for business. At the age of 17, he decided to leave home for the big city. He arrived in Rome and enrolled in the prestigious film school, Centro Sperimentale di Cinematografia. After attending the school for about a year, he managed to produce one film in 1940, The Last Combat , before having to leave Rome temporarily for m...
Post a Comment
Read more