Available - Bui Thanh Tam

Bui Thanh Tam was born in Thai Binh in 1979 and grew up steeped in traditional Vietnamese practices and history. After being exposed to some aspects of Western influences on the Vietnamese people, he began to use his art to speak for the preservation and celebration of traditional Vietnamese culture. His works are filled with the contrast of bright and energetic colors and style with subtle details contradicting that happy energy, to mark the farcical nature of the ‘nouveaux-riches’ in Vietnam. His pieces bring in aspects of Vietnamese water puppets, clothing, Dong Ho folk paintings, and other cultural objects to illustrate the loss of traditional meaning and objectification of Vietnamese culture by many Vietnamese individuals today.