A.C.I.D. by Bui Anh Phong pot

He feels like an idiot in the city life.. Phong is not Teu, of course, but he has lived and felt like Teu.. “Entering” The main objects in Phong’s new painting series are human faces, cr

A.C.I.D by Bui Anh Phong – Some notes on a debut

Phong has regarded himself as “Teu”, a hick character from Vietnamese folklore He feels like an idiot in the city life In his eyes, everything is new, interesting, but also frightening He feels himself a

“navel of the universe” where everybody constantly looks at Every move of his seems to be watched and judged by others The gaze of others becomes his obsession “Others”, however, are not personalities, but attitudes and, sometimes, challenges and threats He wants to conform to others, but others are always strangers His integration into the new life, therefore, is a constant process of self-definition — re-defining himself and others His mindset is swinging between the complexes of a “person of attention” and an “outsider”, and he has to balance himself all the time, by his strong will, by his self-deception,

by his desire to be respected and sympathized, and by his readiness to pay respect and offer sympathy to others

Phong is not Teu, of course, but he has lived and felt like Teu It was an experience Perhaps his looking back upon such an experience is the reason that urges him towards working as an artist It is an inspiration,

an object of his work, a resource for ideas and topical materials by

which he explores and expresses himself This way of creation, for him,

is a process of discovering symbols and metaphors, of projecting abstract concepts, and of experimenting with his inner world — experiments imbued with poetical and philosophical nuances

“Entering”

The main objects in Phong’s new painting series are human faces, crossroads and traffic signs, so to speak, but of all his works only the

“Marked portrait of a kid” clearly shows a perceivable face — seemingly with a peculiar sense of compassion — while all the rest display simple figures intermingling with and cutting into each other Changes in pictorial arrangements and differences in formal combinations as shown in multi-level contrasts of visual elements (color masses, surface textures, compositional arrangements, hues ) create multi-faceted semantic structures and expressive nuances in his work Phong demonstrates his mastery of using the exclusive language

of strokes and colors (independent of visual objects) It is all about human faces, but they are presented in various fashions: in “Entering”, the human face is like an illusory silhouette, a vague shadow on harsh red paint lines; but in “Flying balloon”, the human face is like a sphere inflated with zealousness, frustration and solitude The red line across it looks so strange, appearing as a challenge — transforming the deep blue space behind it into something so mysterious and infinite “My daughter, the blue face mask and the young leaf drifting on the streets”

is one of the most noticeable paintings in this series Its title might evoke emotions associated with a certain peaceful and poetical image, but what appears on the canvas only suggests feelings of somber, anxiety This contra-effect is not a failure It makes such feelings become a deep impact

“Flying balloon”

Between the “Teuesque” feelings and Phong’s paintings there is a metamorphosis of experiences It is an insightfulness It is also a source that emits energy, genuineness, as well as consistency in Phong’s painting style Perhaps, only with a transparent mind and a true love for art that Phong could make such a debut

By Nguyen Hung

“My daughter, the blue face mask and the young leaf drifting on the streets”