Nguyễn Duy Mạnh, First Bone, Then Skin... Phách Lạc (Lost Spirits) I, 2018 - ongoing, details, hand-painted ceramics fired in Bat Trang village. Image by Nancy Karam courtesy of Galerie Bao.
“ His visceral ceramics, often marked by scratches, wounds, and sutures, expose the hidden anguish of a country still grappling with its past. For him, clay is a living body — one that breathes, remembers, and bears witness. “
- Hung Duong*
Galerie Bao is pleased to present Nguyễn Duy Mạnh - First Bone, Then Skin… - his first solo exhibition in Europe. The exhibition brings together two seminal bodies of work: Hồn Xiêu - Phách Lạc (Wandering Souls - Lost Spirits) - the haunting ceramics banquet, part of which currently on display at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts) - and Những Vết Thương Hở (Bare Wounds), a new series of cobalt-blue and sanguine ceramics created for Paris. Together, they reveal the artist’s singular vision: clay as a living body that bears scars, memory, and resilience. Combining stylistic glaze patterns from Chu Đậu ceramics –– its production began in the 13th century in Nam Sách county to the east of Hanoi, before declining in the 17th century –– and the kiln techniques of Bát Tràng village –– a craft village in Hanoian suburb, famous for its vibrant ceramics, he creates uniquely molded and carved pieces.
The exhibition title echoes a folk saying known by every ceramicist in Bát Tràng village, Vietnam: Nhất xương, nhì da, thứ ba dạc lò. Loosely translated into First the bone (clay), second the skin (glaze), and third the kiln, this proverb alludes not only to the core elements in ceramics making, but also a bodily perception of clay, born out of repetitive and experiential encounters with its materiality.
*Hung Duong is an independent writer and translator whose criticism on Southeast Asian contemporary art spans a diverse spectrum of forms and themes, addressing socio-political issues, ecological histories, and material transformation. His writing has appeared in both regional and international magazines such as Artforum, frieze, ArtAsiaPacific, and Art & Market. His recent publications include text contributions for the catalog and reader of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, artwork descriptions for the guidebook of Sharjah Biennial 16, translations of artists’ writings in ‘The Modern in Southeast Asian Art: A Reader’ (published by National Gallery Singapore) and a hybrid essay on artist Trương Công Tùng for Post, the online journal of the Museum of Modern Art, New York. His website sea-through.net serves as a digital platform featuring artists and events across Southeast Asia, along with his personal projects.
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