'Kaleidoscopic Vision' and the Appeal of Street Photography

The Kaleidoscopic Vision collection by young photographer Nguyen Thanh Dung (born in 1995) includes 20 street photos, mostly taken in two big cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, displayed at Pham Tuan Ngoc's studio.

Unique "look"

To have this exhibition, not only thanks to the efforts of a photography enthusiast, Nguyen Thanh Dung was supported a lot by the skilled staff of Noirfoto, especially Pham Tuan Ngoc.

Nguyen Thanh Dung next to his works at the press launch of his first solo exhibition - Kaleidoscopic Vision

Nguyen Thanh Dung's Kaleidoscopic Vision collection was born in the context of the photography market being "overfed" with the explosion in the number of authors and audiences. One consequence is the mass-produced industrial photos. One branch of it - street photography - is also affected by the same formula of repeating the reality recording with a lot of people and details in a photo.

Nguyen Thanh Dung's RCB is visually impressive, especially the color contrast.

Nguyen Thanh Dung has opened a narrow window to approach street photography in a different way: capturing urban moments, condensing the colors at that moment, minimizing unnecessary details and defining a point of view for the photo. Nguyen Thanh Dung took a photo of a puddle when it was about to rain in Ho Chi Minh City, but in it there were many prominent colors of the city; he focused on contrasting warm and cold colors right in the photo.

He only took what he liked and out of 20 exhibitions, only 1 had a photo of a person, but he used the "blur" effect and focused on the contrast of colors.

And the rest, Nguyen Thanh Dung chose a unique point of view. He looked at the city through the flickering of colors, through the most ordinary things and had photos that were almost very elaborate in technical processing, so they looked like "an alien's point of view". At the press conference, he mentioned the "inside point of view" many times before taking the photo.

Regarding the colors in Nguyen Thanh Dung's photos, he shared that he was greatly inspired by the pioneers in contemporary art colors such as Saul Leiter, William Eggleston or Mark Rothko, so it is not difficult to understand that his photos have a minimalist but still "sufficient" composition, the colors clearly show the Color Field style of the Impressionist Expressionist school (popular in the US in the 1940s - 1950s). Upon further inquiry, we learned that he is greatly attracted to hot colors, which is why his photos have great contrast even in a photo that only captures a normal object.

Last but not least, Noirfoto believes that Nguyen Thanh Dung is an author who deserves to have a professional exhibition, not only because Dung's quality and talented works should be known to more people, but Dung is also an author with a serious, determined and persistent attitude towards his love of art.

Mr. Pham Tuan Ngoc, founder of Noirfoto

Series of 4 small-sized photos by Nguyen Thanh Dung

"Worth enjoying"

Nguyen Thanh Dung is a Hanoian, practicing photography and filming in Ho Chi Minh City. He grew up from the annual black and white photography contest - Noirfotocontest03 organized by Noirdoto in 2020. After that, he had works in the group exhibition - Silver Lining at Hanoi Studio Gallery and at Audi Charging Lounge.

Photographer Nguyen Thanh Dung. He is practicing photography and filming in Ho Chi Minh City. Among the myriad of art genres, he chooses street photography because of the magical experiences it brings.

As for Noirfoto, in the past time, it has organized many exhibitions, events, workshops... on photography and contemporary performance art, and Nguyen Thanh Dung was never absent from any of them. Recognizing his will to progress as well as the uniqueness in his personal works, Noirfoto acted as a "midwife" to "debut" a "brand new" artist. The Kaleidoscopic Vision exhibition helps the audience, especially photography lovers, have the opportunity to admire the works that, according to Mr. Pham Tuan Ngoc, are worth enjoying.

The introduction of young artist Nguyen Thanh Dung by Noirfoto this time is not only aimed at an individual, but it also shows that Noirfoto's future direction is to create conditions and support other young artists, especially those who are passionate about practicing art in general and photography in particular.

The Kaleidoscopic Vision exhibition runs until September 1.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/kaleidoscopic-vision-va-su-hap-dan-cua-nhiep-anh-duong-pho-18524081519463349.htm