Collector Pham Quang Ngoc is currently a senior lecturer at the FSB Institute of Business Administration and Technology - FPT University, and the founder of ART30 Gallery. With a passion for collecting art for many years, he shares about the panorama of Vietnamese fine arts in 2024.
Vietnamese fine arts has had an exciting year with many exhibitions held continuously across the three regions of the country, sir?
- The Vietnamese art market this year is quite vibrant in all areas, from exhibition spaces, exhibition activities, art residency activities, to festivals and creative support models... International exchange activities have been restored after the pandemic period, marked by the exhibition "Hanoi Art Connecting 7" - a meeting of domestic and international artists towards the 100th anniversary of Indochina Fine Arts. The involvement of technology and AI (artificial intelligence) is becoming more and more evident, starting from the application of relic restoration to gradually restore works of art, for example, restoring the painting in the main lecture hall and some architectural decorations at the top of the main hall of the Indochina University, within the framework of " Hanoi Creative Design Festival 2024". However, in terms of regional distribution, there has not been a new breakthrough, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City still dominate this market more than other provincial cities.
However, I still see the art market closely linked to economic development?
- In recent years, there has been an interesting phenomenon that even though the Vietnamese economy has slowed down or been affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, the domestic art market is still growing. This is perhaps primarily due to the increasing social aesthetic capacity, and the spending on art of today's youth is more extensive than the previous generation. In addition, Vietnam is a young art market, so there are still many opportunities to participate and attract investment due to its novelty. In addition, the way the art market operates is gradually changing in a more positive direction (evolution), becoming more transparent with the operating rules between galleries, artists, curators and collectors. This makes the domestic art market still grow even though the economy is not growing as expected. I think that in the next few years, if the economy recovers for 1 year, the art market will be twice as vibrant.
However, many exhibitions are organized, perhaps not with the main goal of selling paintings, but to summarize a creative journey of an individual artist?
- Art exhibitions nowadays usually follow two paths: the introduction-only exhibition path, and the introduction-cum-commercial exhibition path (after the exhibition period). In the gallery area, in addition to the purpose of exhibition, introduction and commerce, the exhibition also aims to build a platform for art communication, thereby participating in promoting the process of art perception and education of the community. Finally, the exhibition also contributes to forming the infrastructure for the art market in Vietnam. The exhibition summarizing the artist's creative period is an event that encompasses the individual, shaping the artist's style. Whether commercial or non-commercial, we still support this exhibition model.
How do you rate the quality of the works displayed last year?
- The quality of a work of art depends on many variables. Besides, there are other factors such as the artist's life and creative process, the current state of the work, the way the work was formed and the emotions it brings to the audience... It should be noted that quality is not always proportional to the selling price. Over the past year, I have been happy to see many new works with new directions, clear thinking, and especially artistic emotions. This is a positive movement for the domestic art market.
In the context of many economic changes in society, when everything becomes unpredictable, it seems that collectors continue to return to sustainable and safe values, such as focusing on famous artists and works with guaranteed value over a long period of time, don't you think?
- Artwork is a special commodity, its use value lies in the spiritual side. Usually, there are two factors involved in the art trading activity: having and not having the need to increase the profit of the work. Famous works always have a more sustainable and secure economic value, so in any context they have an advantage over unknown works. Vietnam currently clearly has many economic difficulties, but due to many reasons, the young art sector is expanding more than the old, established sectors. The number of collectors is increasing rapidly, in both sectors.
2024 also shows more interest in the young generation of fine arts. Exhibitions, festivals, fine arts projects, and competitions to find new fine arts talents will take place vigorously?
- Young people participate in artistic activities very strongly and fiercely. In terms of creation, young artists express their individuality very clearly. The materials are also richer, and the techniques are increasingly sophisticated. In terms of organization, young people dominate most festivals and group projects, typically the organization of the exhibition "Hanoi Art Connecting 7", or the art information group HanoiGrapvine. The advantage of young people in the art world is huge, especially in expressing new thinking and multi-dimensional connections.
However, has it become more common for collectors to choose to invest in works by young artists? Why?
- Nowadays, young artists are getting more attention and are being collected more. Firstly, the cost of owning works by young artists is generally much lower than that of established artists. Secondly, as the market for big and established artists is growing rapidly and becoming difficult to trade, demand will have to flow towards young artists who are both easy to buy and have low costs. Thirdly, as mentioned above, collectors are getting younger and tend to enjoy the spirit more, so they are also interested in the vibration of the work, not just the investment value.
Does the market factor have much influence on the work of artists, when they are more concerned with how to sell more paintings, than creating a style with a unique ideology?
- Market factors have a great influence on producers. As a producer of art, the artist is no exception, but how he behaves towards the market is important. Those behaviors will determine whether the market affects his creative activities or not. This seems very difficult to generalize and judge, because the artist's behavior towards the market is completely personal, not depending on the artist's professional capacity, cultural level or financial ability. However, I personally always believe that with the current development, the art market will move towards more transparency and better quality. At that time, gold and brass will no longer be mixed, and artists will know how to choose their own career path.
What are your predictions and expectations for Vietnamese fine arts in 2025?
- By 2025, the art market in Vietnam will have many improvements in the fields of exhibitions, collections and quality of works. Non-profit creative support activities will also continue. I think that the trend of artistic creation will inevitably apply the achievements of technology such as AI applications, multi-sensory art and possibly art based on virtual reality.
I believe that the domestic art market is gradually becoming more transparent, and the market's operating rules will soon be improved.
I wish Vietnamese artists to have more and more good works and step out into the world more!
Thanks for sharing!
Source: https://daidoanket.vn/nha-suu-tap-pham-quang-ngoc-su-can-du-cua-cong-nghe-va-ai-ngay-cang-ro-net-10298014.html
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