Nguyen Duc Phuong (Phuong Gio): Between Memory, Materials and Life

Artist Nguyen Duc Phuong (Phuong Gio)

Source: VCCA Vincom Center for Contemporary Art Facebook Fanpage

 

For Phuong, creating art is not about searching for an answer that already exists. During an interview with Nguyen Art Foundation in Hanoi on April 3, 2024, he shared that the creative process is also a way of confronting his own questions - gradually untangling the “knots” that emerge along the way.

One of the places where this process begins is with clay - a familiar and fundamental material in his practice. Before taking on a finished form, clay is carefully observed, tested, and explored through its color, characteristics, strengths, and limitations. Through the material itself, Phuong seeks to reveal the spirit of each work, allowing clay to become more than simply a medium for shaping; it becomes an integral part of the artistic narrative.

Nguyen Duc Phuong Exploring Clay as a Material

Source: Courtesy of the artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

 

In Phuong’s practice, color is not simply a decorative element. He devotes considerable time to exploring and developing colors, particularly those derived from natural materials. Clay, plants, paper, wood, and other familiar materials thus become more than mere artistic mediums - they carry traces of place and lived experience.
 

A Woodwork by Artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

Source: Courtesy of the artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

 

Nguyen Art Foundation has described Phuong as an artist who has spent years translating his observations of contemporary Vietnam into visual objects, with clay, plant-based pigments, and traditional paper playing a significant role in his practice.
 

A Clay Work by Artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

Source: Courtesy of the artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

 

Perhaps it is through this process of experimentation and restraint that Phuong finds a sense of freedom. In the same interview with Nguyen Art Foundation, he spoke of this freedom in recognizing that nature and people remain essentially the same, unchanged.

 

This has led him to simplify both his thoughts and forms, allowing what he wishes to convey to emerge through the work itself.

 

Around 2017, Phuong’s practice began to develop a more distinct interest in the lives and expressions of Vietnamese folk culture.

 

Among these, dó paper became a particularly meaningful material. For Phuong, paper is not simply a surface for drawing or painting. Since ancient times, paper has served as a medium for recording books, manuscripts, and knowledge—a way for one generation to preserve and pass on what it wishes to leave to the next.

Curriculum Vitae

Nguyen Duc Phuong, 2021, 40 × 40 cm

Dó paper, indigo, gold leaf, silver

Source: Manzi Art Space

 

For Phuong, dó paper offers another way of documenting and preserving folk life.

 

His interest, however, extends beyond familiar imagery. Through his research and exploration, he discovered that many rituals, visual forms, and expressions of folk culture have yet to be fully studied or documented. Some exist only through practice, memory, and stories passed down from one person to another. These fragments of cultural memory become material for Phuong to observe, reinterpret, and transform through his art.

 

As a result, his works often have a simple, understated appearance, at times evoking familiar images from folk culture without being confined to nostalgia. Instead, they offer a way of looking back at the past from the perspective of the present—sometimes gentle, sometimes humorous, and at times subtly satirical.
 

Chương trình biểu diễn nghệ thuật tổng hợp “Lời của tre” do nghệ sĩ Nguyễn Đức Phương phụ trách thiết kế sân khấu

Nguồn: Hanoi Grapevine
 

Đáng chú ý, năm 2023, Phương đảm nhận vai trò Giám đốc Mỹ thuật cho dự án SỰ SỐNG tại Six Senses Côn Đảo. Chương trình kết hợp nghệ thuật trình diễn, âm nhạc, nghệ thuật thị giác và cảnh quan tự nhiên, diễn ra trên bãi biển Côn Đảo trong kỳ trăng tròn. Ở đây, Phương phụ trách ngôn ngữ thị giác của sân khấu và không gian xung quanh, để nghệ thuật hòa vào những yếu tố sẵn có của nơi chốn như cát, nước, gió và cảnh quan.

3. When the Familiar Finds New Expression at Anmira Hoi An Village of Arts and Culture

Source: Courtesy of the artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

Source: Anmira Hoi An

 

This connection extends beyond the artworks present within the space. Phuong has also brought his craft-based practice into hospitality settings through hands-on workshops. At Amanaki Thao Dien, he led a workshop on making dó paper lanterns, combining traditional dó paper with bamboo frames to create lanterns that are rustic in appearance while preserving the spirit of traditional craftsmanship.
 

Nguyen Duc Phuong’s Five Elements Lanterns, Mid-Autumn Festival 2025 at Amanaki Thao Dien

Dó paper lanterns handmade by guests during the workshop
 

Selected works from the dó paper lantern workshop led by artist Nguyen Duc Phuong

Source: Amanaki Thao Dien Facebook Fanpage
 

At Anmira Hoi An, this connection was further developed through the workshop “Lung Linh Den Giay Do – Thoi Hon Cho Anh Sang Co Tich” as part of the “Cham Vao Hoi An” series in 2025. Rather than simply observing a finished piece, participants had the opportunity to work directly with dó paper, experiencing and engaging with this traditional material through their own hands.
 

Artist Nguyen Duc Phuong guiding guests in making lanterns

Source: Anmira Hoi An

 

What makes this connection particularly meaningful is that Phuong has experienced Anmira Hoi An not simply as an observer from the outside. He has stayed here himself - living within the space, wandering through its gardens, and taking in its light, materials, and slower rhythm of life. His connection with Anmira Hoi An therefore goes beyond a shared philosophy; it began with a lived experience: staying, observing, and allowing a sense of place to naturally become part of his creative process.

 

Traces of Phuong Gio’s practice can also be found throughout Anmira Hoi An in several pieces he has created, including lanterns and decorative objects. Rather than being presented as standalone artworks, these pieces are integrated into the architecture and living spaces of Anmira Hoi An, contributing to the property’s distinctive sense of rustic warmth, intimacy, and traditional craftsmanship.

Dó Paper Lantern

Nguyen Duc Phuong

Source: Anmira Hoi An

 

Perhaps it is through this connection that Anmira Hoi An becomes more than simply a place to stay. It is a space where guests can slow down and see the everyday through a different lens - from the texture of a traditional craft material and the quiet corners of the garden to the changing light within a room and the traces of local culture woven into everyday life.
 

Dó Paper Lantern Workshop Poster

Source: Anmira Hoi An

 

If Phuong Gio’s artistic journey is one of rediscovering memories through humble materials, then Anmira Hoi An likewise creates a space where local memories and cultural values can continue to live, be experienced, and be retold in new ways. Perhaps this is why an artist like Phuong can find here not simply a place to stay, but a place to observe, connect, and create.

 

Nguyen Duc Phuong, better known by his artistic name Phuong Gio, is a Vietnamese artist who graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2007. His multidisciplinary practice spans painting, ceramics, sculpture, and installation, with a particular interest in everyday life, folk culture, local materials, and memories rooted in place.

 

The name Phuong Gio comes from his hometown and family background. He was born in Uoc Le, a village renowned for its traditional gio cha (Vietnamese pork sausage), a craft with which his family has long been associated and that he himself once practiced.

 

After graduating from university, he adopted “Phuong Gio” as the name under which he introduced himself to the public and signed his artworks. Over time, the name became an integral part of his artistic identity.

 

Phuong Gio does not limit himself to a single artistic style or medium. His practice moves across painting, ceramics, sculpture, and installation, often beginning with observations of Vietnamese life and culture.

 

He tends towards simplicity in both form and expression, while exploring familiar materials and images from new perspectives.

 

His notable exhibitions and projects include Ngam Giay at Manzi Art Space (2017), Toa 2 at VCCA (2018), In Situ at Manzi (2019), Xem Dem – Cang Dem (2020), and Do La Dau – Do La Day with the Dan Do group at VCCA (2020).

 

He also participated in the A. Farm artist residency programme in 2018 and served as Art Director for the Su Song project at Six Senses Con Dao in 2023.

 

These materials and forms are closely connected to Vietnamese life, memory, and culture—subjects that Phuong has spent years researching, exploring, and experimenting with.

 

For Phuong, clay, dó paper, and other natural materials are more than simply artistic mediums. They carry traces of place, traditional craftsmanship, and stories passed down through generations. Through his practice, he brings these familiar elements into his work, reinterpreting them through a contemporary lens.

 

Phuong Gio has created a number of dó paper lanterns that are displayed throughout the spaces of Anmira Hoi An. He hand-painted the lanterns with watercolors, adding touches of color and craftsmanship while allowing them to blend naturally into the resort’s architecture and richly textured surroundings.

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Contact infomation: 

Anmira Hội An Village of Arts & Culture
Address: 276 Cua Dai Street, Hoi An Dong Ward, Da Nang City, Vietnam

Tel: +84 235 3923 999
Email: reservations@anmiraresort.com
Website: https://anmiraresort.com/
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