Việt Nam Peace Project / Giấc Mơ Hòa Bình

For most people, the Vietnam War was a mediated conflict experienced through searing photographs, epic television broadcasts, and blockbuster Hollywood movies. Even though the war has been over for almost 50 years, the Vietnamese landscape is still going through a process of recovery. Through his installations and photorealistic paintings, Teo Nguyen renders the landscape of his homeland as a container for embodied and experiential memory.

 Teo’s small and large-scale paintings are equal parts precision and delicacy, each image balances beautiful details and gestural mark making. He is a master of painting landscapes, atmosphere, and terrains but he’s also interested in photography, especially how images document both world history and personal memory. Visitors may recognize some of the most iconic images from the Vietnam War and notice how he has removed the central scene of violence or destruction. Teo doesn’t perform this gesture to erase what has happened. In fact, each piece is his expression of reverence for life and honoring all those who have passed. He says, “I am grounded by animist spirituality, a belief that all things have a spirit. I paint memories of a place, of a time, and of the lives that are there even if we no longer see them.” 

The importance of the Việt Nam Peace Project is that it represents a new kind of memorial making. Rather than seeking closure through permanent monuments, Teo’s installations reframe memorials as active objects that strive towards reconciliation and an appreciation for the ongoing effects of the war. And since Teo understands conflict in holistic terms, that it affects all of humanity, his works are sites where memories are shared. Ultimately, Teo believes that the generative power of forgiveness leads to cultural awareness and understanding. The Việt Nam Peace Project is an invitation to re-engage with history through these powerful artworks and share in Teo’s belief in a future that is filled with optimism, healing, and understanding.Viet Nam Peace Project was on view at Minneapolis Institute of Art (July 30, 2022 – June 18, 2023). This iteration of the exhibition was generously supported in party by the National Endowment for the Humanities and Iowa Arts Council and curated by Christopher Atkins.

Teo Nguyen: Việt Nam Peace Project / Giấc Mơ Hòa Bình. August 17, 2023 – January 14, 2024