Again, Forever

Young exhibition of young artists born in 1996 – Dang Thuy Anh, – Chieu Duong, – Pham Minh Hieu, – Vu Dieu Huong, – Trinh Cam Nhi, – Le Hoang Nam Phuong, – Thao Bui Again, Forever brings together works by seven artists, all born in 1996. Spanning painting, sculpture, video, and installation, the works presented here are the artists’ most recent creations: scattered experiments and ideas that have only now found room to take shape. They converge through the gathering and excavation of memory.

An image that recurs in the mind, a lingering yet indistinct feeling, or thoughts held close about a person, a place, or a past experience—the intimate spontaneity of these fragments has guided the exhibition toward the most private spaces of each artist. Vu Dieu Huong recalls hazy memories of hardships within her family and distills them into the image of three small candles enclosed within a large one. Thao Bui turns the camera toward the shifting gaze between himself and his father.

While Dang Thuy Anh sketches and writes about the sweet gloom she carries, Trinh Cam Nhi paints the quiet intimacy of words that have yet to be spoken. Moving at a different rhythm, Chieu Duong uses lacquer to excavate butterfly-shaped artifacts in an attempt to grasp the spiritual realm. Le Hoang Nam Phuong explores the capacity of visual systems to observe, remember, and imagine through paintings of a peculiar cemetery near her home.

Through reflection and selection, Pham Minh Hieu contemplates the self and the continuous unfolding of time, without beginning or end. Through these distinct concerns, the exhibition moves from personal recollection and collective memory toward a deeper contemplation of reality and its uncertainties. 1996 – 2026: what do thirty years mean when childhood still feels so recent?

Again, forever is an act of mutual support and reflection among friends of the same generation as they make their way along this shared passage. (By Trinh Cam Nhi, Thao Bui)