Exhibition «Sàng Sảy» (Sifting & Winnowing)

   A grain of rice as the first geometry of the world: the same shape turns up in the vesica piscis, in the human eye, in any seed. A small gallery in Hanoi's Hoàn Kiếm district, a short walk from St Joseph's Cathedral, has gathered the paintings of an artist who made that grain his signature — and invites you to follow the whole hand-milling of rice down to its core.

   “Sàng Sảy” means sifting and winnowing, the closing stage of the old manual way of preparing rice: once the grain has been ground and pounded, a flat bamboo tray separates the full grains from the husks and throws out the hollow ones. For the curators at 39 Concept that describes their own practice — keeping only what still carries the original spirit. The showcase belongs to the first chapter of their programme, “Hạt – Khởi nguyên” (The Seed – The Genesis).

   At the centre are 15 paintings by Lê Thiết Cương from his signature series “Hạt gạo” (Grains of Rice). He founded Gallery 39, the predecessor of today's 39 Concept, and set its creative direction; he died in July 2025, and the organisers call this series the DNA and backbone of his legacy. Around it sit paintings in varied materials by Nguyen Minh, who signs as Minh City, and graphic work by the young design team at 39 Concept.

   What is on the walls:

• — 15 canvases from the “Hạt gạo” series — the grain reduced to the simplest possible sign;
• — works in mixed materials by Nguyen Minh (Minh City) — a younger artist answering the same theme;
• — graphic design from the 39 Concept studio — the seed translated into contemporary visual language.

   The framing text comes from the poem “Đất Nước” (The Country) by Nguyễn Khoa Điềm, where rice passes through sun and dew, through the mill and the sieve — and from that day on, the poet writes, the Country exists. Hence the show's second theme: transmission. The seed is what gets handed on, from an older maker to a younger one, from one generation to the next.

   Go if you follow Vietnamese contemporary art and want to see Lê Thiết Cương's central series assembled in one room. Designers and illustrators have their own reason: painting and applied graphics are shown here on equal footing, which is rare. And if you are still finding your way around the Hanoi art scene, this is an easy entry point — one clear idea, an hour at most.

   The venue is part of the story: Gallery 39 was opened by Lê Thiết Cương and continues today as 39 Concept, half exhibition space, half graphic design studio.

   Come with attention to spare — the measure here is not how much hangs on the walls, but what remains once everything hollow has been winnowed away.