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What You Need to Know: Dealer Raquelle Azran is opening her Manhattan home to showcase her private collection of works from three decades of collecting and curating Vietnamese fine art. A total of 25 works are on view to the public for the first time. Dating from the 1970s until today, the works are a panoply of styles and mediums and include those by Luu Cong Nhan, Pham Viet Song, Phung Pham, Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Vu Thu Hien, Nguyen Bao Toan, Phan Cam Thuong, Nguyen Quang Minh, Co Chu Pin, and Vu Dinh Tuan. Tours are by appointment only so be sure to reach out in advance (320 East 57th Street). 

Why We Like It: This exhibition offers a lens into the vibrant art scene that’s been unfolding in Vietnam over the past few decades within the personalized space of a home. The works, in various ways, fold together past and present in richly layered works that synthesize the countries’ complex history and myriad cultures. Azran has been collecting works directly from artists for 30 years, since first traveling to Hanoi in 1991. Particularly captivating are the works of Dinh Thi Tham Poon and Vu Thu Hien, two Hanoi-based artists, whose paintings have been critically acclaimed internationally. The two women share a lot in common—both were born in 1970 and were members of the same graduating class of the Hanoi Fine Arts University. Each works in watercolor on traditional handmade rice paper. Vu Thu Hien weaves art-historical references from Modigliani to Matisse into her portraits of real and spiritual beings. Dinh Thi Tham Poong makes portraits of ethnic Vietnamese women and families, but imbues them with a sense of Surrealism that she quotes from Magritte. 

What the Gallery Has To Say: “I believe that artwork must be experienced directly and viscerally,” said Azran. “The conversation between the viewer and the artwork is a very personal and direct communication, which requires attention and time. I am delighted to open my home and offer a rich viewing opportunity to aficionados of Vietnamese fine art as well as to those for whom the delight of discovery lies ahead.”

Vu Thu Hien
Gossamer and Gold (2009)
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Vu Thu Hien, Gossamer and Gold (2009). Courtesy of Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art.

Dinh Thi Tham Poong
Gardens of Eden (2004)
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Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Gardens of Eden (2004). Courtesy of Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art.

Phung Pham
Season of Rice (2002)
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Phung Pham, Season of Rice (2002). Courtesy of Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art.

Nguyen Quang Minh
Massage (1996)
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Nguyen Quang Minh, Massage (1996). Courtesy of Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art.

Co Chu Pin
Horse Parade (1997)
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Co Chu Pin, Horse Parade (1997). Courtesy of Raquelle Azran Vietnamese Contemporary Fine Art.

“Private Collection. Open House NYC” is on view at 320 E. 57th Street, New York, NY, through August 20.