And Flowers Showered

Craig Thomas Gallery is pleased to invite you to the private cocktail reception of And Flowers Showered by Nguyen The Hung.

And Flowers Showered, Hanoi-based artist Nguyen The Hung’s first solo exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, consists of twenty-two works of collage and watercolor on traditional do paper mounted on canvas.

Inspired by Zen Buddhist philosophy, Hung takes the title for his collection from the Indian guru Osho’s book of Zen discourses “And The Flowers Showered.” In what he calls “ephemeral carpets”, Hung’s paintings are awash in cut-out Sala flowers which are representative in Buddhist philosophy of those who have achieved enlightenment. With many of his flowers containing images from urban and pop culture taken from fashion and lifestyle magazines, Hung uses his flowers as symbols for all that is beautiful in life.

Hung draws influences for his work from diverse sources that include Hang Trong “Tet” paintings from Hanoi and the ritual Tho paintings of the Dao minority of Vietnam’s northern mountains from which he himself originates. The paintings of And Flowers Showered also manifest a deep Daoist emphasis on the profound intimacy and communion between humanity and nature that is strongly reminiscent of East Asian landscape painting. The result is a synthesis that is both gloriously idiosyncratic and visually enchanting.