Thang

I went to the studio of my painter friend Ha Manh Thang last weekend to look at some new work he’s doing for an upcoming exhibition at Sloppy Joe’s. Although I don’t work at the bar anymore I’ve agreed to continue helping them with the exhibits.

I met Thang through my friend Tuan Anh whose paintings were the first to be exhibited at Sloppy Joe’s. Thang is a great painter and draughtsman who has enjoyed a certain degree of success in Hanoi. His work is exhibited regularly at different galleries and he makes a living from selling his work. His subjects range from landscapes to portraits and are usually abstract, yet recognizable in their subject matter.

Tuan Anh, Thang and I met for coffee early in the morning and then went to one of our favorite galleries in Hanoi. The Suffusive Gallery. They focus on young Vietnamese artists whose work tends to be heavily conceptual and “on the fringe”. Here’s a link to the gallery but it may not work. http://www.suffusiveart.com/

Then we spent the afternoon at Thangs studio listening to music, talking about and looking at art. Thang showed me the paintings that he wants to exhibit at Sloppy Joe’s and told me about the concept behind them. He’s painted over 20 small portraits and has 10 more to finish that will be displayed in groups on the wall. They will look like clusters of people gathered in different areas of the bar and we joked about how “busy” the place would look once the work was hung.

Here are a few examples of the portraits.




We’re working on a timeframe right now and planning the show. Hopefully it will be up in a week or so.