Phuong Quoc Tri

On August 5, 2010, Vietnamese contemporary artist Phuong Quoc Tri was awarded one of the top prizes in painting from the Vietnam Fine Art Association for his painting "A KID 2". We are thrilled that he joined us in Tokyo on November 20, 2011 for his first solo exhibition outside of Vietnam. The exhibition opened at The Tokyo American Club on November 20th and continued at Toriizaka Art. Thanks to everyone who attended. It was a real treat to see Tri in action as he began a new painting during the opening.

Phuong Quoc Tri was born in 1976 in central Vietnam in the small town of Phan Rang. He left home at the age of 12 to settle in Saigon where he struggled to earn a living and continue his education.

Tri's father and brother were self-taught artists and Tri shared their passion for expressing human emotion on a canvas and through sculptural works. Tri's contemporary Vietnamese paintings are almost exclusively figurative. Each of his characters tells a story; some of longing, some of hardship, some of a destiny unknown. Tri's works force the viewer to think, reflect and experience. His introverted characters appear to be deep in thought; their lives rich with joy and sorrow. Our eyes are drawn to the figures and we cannot help but to search for a deeper understanding of what they are thinking; what can we learn from them?