Nha San Collective - Nguyen Van Cuong

Nguyen Van Cuong belongs to the first generation of Vietnamese avant-garde artists since early 1990s. Cuong's artworks comment on the complex forces and contradictions that have occurred with westernization in Vietnam. His works offer a social commentary that should be viewed more as global commentary. In the summer of 1998 Cuong had the only solo exhibition Pacific Bridge has hosted. For that show he painted challenging works depicting power brokers as men in suits and the powerless as nude women. Included in his vocabulary of symbols are men in suits with no mouths representing the people who have power and yet have nothing to say - the mindless bureaucrats everywhere. These characterizations spoke to the broad themes of power and corruption that are evident around the world.