Vũ Dân Tân (1946-2009 Hanoi, Vietnam) was a central figure of emerging Vietnamese contemporary art in 1990s-Hanoi. At the forefront of this small visual art vanguard, Vũ Dân Tân came to international prominence when his multimedia glass-box series Suitcases of a Pilgrim was included in the Second Asia-Pacific Triennial of Contemporary Art (APT2, 1996), at Queensland Art Gallery, Brisbane, Australia. Following this career landmark, Vũ Dân Tân’s many series and site-specific projects have continued to be exhibited in Asia-Pacific, Europe, and North America.

Because he challenged Vietnamese modern painting orthodoxies, Vũ Dân Tân is not always well represented in official historiographies of Vietnamese art. However, recent scholarship recognises his role spearheading Vietnam’s contemporary turn, and beyond Vietnam, affirms his place in early Southeast Asian contemporary art.

The artist’s 3-D Fashion works are made from recuperated cardboard, combining sensorial appeal and conceptual meanings to poetically engage with Vietnam and the world’s 21st century social paradigms globalisation, consumerism, and impacts of hyper capitalism.

Vũ Dân Tân’s art is in the collections of QAGOMA, Singapore Art Museum, Fukuoka Asian Art Museum, and others. Vu Dan Tan’s idea-rich and aesthetically seductive works are grappling with the philosophical and social debates of our times.