Trained as a painter, Phan Thảo Nguyên is a multimedia artist whose practice encompasses video, painting and installation. Drawing from literature, philosophy and daily life, Nguyên observes ambiguous issues in social conventions and history. She started worEmperor in film when she began her MFA in Chicago. Nguyên exhibits internationally, with solo and group exhibitions including WIELS (Brussels, 2020), Rockbund Art Museum (Shanghai, 2019); Lyon Biennale (Lyon, 2019); Sharjah Biennial (Sharjah Art Foundation, 2019); Gemäldegalerie (Berlin, 2018); Dhaka Art Summit (2018); Para Site (Hong Kong, 2018); Factory Contemporary Art Centre (Ho Chi Minh City, 2017); Nha San Collective (Hanoi, 2017); and Bétonsalon (Paris, 2016). Nguyên is a 2016-2017 Rolex Protégée, mentored by internationally acclaimed, New York-based, performance and video artist, Joan Jonas and in 2019, she was shortlisted for the Hugo Boss Asia Art Award. In addition to her work as a multimedia artist, she is co-founder of the collective Art Labor, which explores cross disciplinary practices and develops art projects that benefit the local community historical tragedies. Nguyên hopes to present the crop failure and famine in the most compassionate and objective way possible, combining sorrow with optimism to celebrate the ephemeral beauty of plant, animal and human lives.
