First Vietnamese artist invited to show works at Biennale Venice

Artist Le Huu Hieu (Henry Le) will become the first Vietnamese representative at the 60th Biennale Venice in Italy, scheduled from April 20 to November 24, 2024.

Paolo De Grandis, president of PDG Arte Communications, a representative of the 60th Biennale Venice organisation, sent a letter to Minister of Culture, Sports and Tourism Nguyen Van Hung to invite Hieu to take part in the event.

"We have jointly organised 127 exhibitions at the Venice Biennal with the presence of numerous countries for the first time, including Andorra, Azerbaijan, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Jamaica, Morocco, Monaco, Estonia, Latvia, Ukraine, Singapore and Ecuador,” Grandis wrote in the invitation letter.

"With more than 30 years of experience collaborating with the Venice Biennale, we believe it will be an important milestone to have Vietnam's first presence after the event’s 129 years of history, represented by talented artist Henry Le."

The letter also confirms that Hieu was the first Vietnamese and Asian artist to organise a solo exhibition in Arsenale Nord, Venice in 2021.

Entitled Soul Energy, it was curated by Chiara Canali and promoted by MoCA and Arte Laguna Studio, presenting 40 large-scale pictorial works and an installation of human-sized iron sculptures.

"I'm waiting for official reply from the ministry of culture," said Hieu. "I think it is a good chance to bring and introduce Vietnamese history and culture to the world."

Hieu was born in 1982 in the central province of Ha Tinh. He lives and works in Hanoi. Having been an architect in the past, for more than 10 years Hieu has chosen artistic research as a priority experience of his life, placing it at the centre of every reflection, idea and visual practice.

He had a solo exhibition at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum in 2014. He also took part in the Art Basel Miami and Contemporary Art Projects USA in the US in 2016, and the 11th Florence Biennale da Basso in Florence, Italy in 2017.