Anh Trần on Abstraction as Performance and Resistance to Expressive Individualism
In the January & February 2025 edition of ArtReview, Anh Trần, a painter originally from Vietnam and now based in Berlin, shares insights into her artistic approach. Her expansive abstract pieces incorporate oil, acrylic, Flashe vinyl, and spray paint, evoking both landscapes and letterforms. Trần perceives painting as a medium for dialogue, distancing herself from the notion of expressive individualism. Her artistic style, shaped by her education in Auckland and Amsterdam, mirrors her diverse experiences in Vietnam, New Zealand, and Europe. In 2024, she showcased her work at St Clara Church during Art Basel Parcours, presenting 'every water has the right place to be'. Her notable exhibitions also include the 2022 Biennial of Painting and the 58th Carnegie International, linking her art to her grandmother's shamanistic traditions to foster wordless connections with viewers.
Key facts
- Anh Trần is a Vietnamese-born painter based in Berlin.
- She studied painting in Auckland and Amsterdam.
- Her work features large, multipart abstract canvases with kinetic gestures using oil, acrylic, Flashe vinyl, and spray paint.
- Trần exhibited at Art Basel Parcours in 2024 with two paintings in St Clara Church, titled 'every water has the right place to be'.
- She participated in the 2022 Biennial of Painting at Museum Dhondt Dhaenens, curated by Gabi Ngcobo and Oscar Murillo.
- Trần has had solo shows at Fons Welters in Amsterdam, Société in Berlin, and Fitzpatrick Gallery in Paris.
- She rejects expressive individualism, viewing painting as a performance and a bridge for conversation.
- Trần's maternal grandmother was a shaman, which influences her approach to identity and form-shifting in her practice.
Entities
Artists
- Anh Trần
- Gabi Ngcobo
- Oscar Murillo
Institutions
- ArtReview
- Museum Dhondt Dhaenens
- Carnegie International
- Fons Welters
- Société
- Fitzpatrick Gallery
- Art Basel Parcours
- CIA
Locations
- Bến Tre
- Vietnam
- Auckland
- New Zealand
- Amsterdam
- Netherlands
- Berlin
- Germany
- Deurle
- Belgium
- Paris
- France
- St Clara Church
- Charlottenburg
- USA