Biography

Trương Tân (b. 1963, Hanoi, Vietnam) graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts (formerly known as Hanoi College of Fine Arts) in 1989, where he worked as a teaching assistant and a lecturer from 1989 to 1997 before becoming a full-time artist. Following the advent of Đổi Mới (Renovation era) in 1986, which liberalised Vietnam’s market policies, there was a resurgent artistic romanticisation of Vietnam’s past. Truong, for his part, abandoned the country’s then-current academicism in favour of a practice that focused on the complexities of human psychology and social circumstances. Through painting, drawing, performance, installation, sculpture, and ceramics, Truong challenges social convention and investigates themes of identity and freedom of expression.

Truong addresses the long-established prejudices that influence Vietnam’s highly traditional society, examining national identity and its intersection with gender stereotypes. Centered on his own identity, his work explores perceptions of homosexuality in a conservative milieu. Notable group exhibitions include Singapore Biennial (2008); Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Japan (2009); Connect: Kunstszene Vietnam, ifa Gallery Berlin (2010) and ifa Gallery Stuttgart (2011); Negotiating Home, History and Nation: Two Decades of Contemporary Art from Southeast Asia, 1991–2010, Singapore Art Museum (2011); and 8 Vietnamese Contemporary Artists, Bui Gallery, Hanoi (2012).