A solo exhibition
Downtown in Reverie
Artist: Nguyễn Ngọc Liêm| Thời gian: 09/08/2022 - 04/09/2022
Preface
Writer: Eléonore Tran
Sat on his scooter, Nguyễn Ngọc Liêm wanders the streets and alleys of South Vietnam’s suburbs. Sometimes, the shadow of a branch or the tangle of buildings catches his eye and compels him to put his foot down.
‘Downtown in Reverie’ displays these visions, where urban landscape and nature collide. Inspired by the secret sceneries he first noticed, the artist paints the city with colors born from his imagination, and produces dreamy testimonies where the vernacular stands as the main focus.
The advent of GPS and mapping applications has flattened the city’s topography, and consequently almost wiped out any possibility to go astray from its very fabric. From point A to point B, the walker is no longer allowed to take a detour, and only walks with a specific purpose. Mass tourism reflects this habit of following a marked out circuit of "must-see" monuments, without ever leaving any room for strolling, and for the poetic discoveries it can lead to.
Moving around at any time of the day or night, Nguyễn Ngọc Liêm does away with all maps and tracings. Eyes raised towards the sky, he observes what, for so many others, is only the scenery of their active life. In his paintings, there is not a living soul to be found. The scooters flourishing in the streets have disappeared and no human character, no movement lies beyond the window openings depicted by the artist.
Yet something is moving in these views of Vietnamese cities. If the streets are empty, the singular framing - almost cinematographic - of the compositions leads the viewer to reflect, along with the artist, on the small details of everyday life. While the windows of the painted houses remain firmly closed, the embedded canvases reveal details of the items adorning the interior. Plant life is offered to the eye; stems and foliage sagging, greening and yellowing silently, reminding us of the passing of time and leaving behind the last notes of a melancholic fragrance.
