Open studio «Dư cảnh» (Ripples of the Day) by Nguyễn Ban Ga

   Sit in the blue chairs, embraced by the darkness, and see, touch and hear: Manzi invites you to its exhibition space off Hàng Bún street in Hanoi, where Nguyễn Ban Ga runs the open studio «Dư cảnh» (Ripples of the Day) for almost a month.

   After nearly ten years spent largely away from pure artistic practice to focus on design, woodworking and furniture-making, Nguyễn Ban Ga returns with an open studio at the intersection of design, craft and sculpture, together with an installation of space, light and sound. The sound is by Nguyễn Trinh Thi, with lighting by consultant Nguyễn Trần Nam.

   It starts from private preoccupations around memory, family bonds, distance in relationships and the fear of separation. Once it took form, in Manzi's words, the work slipped beyond its own frame to echo the wider tremors of society: on transformation, and on loss.

   The show is for anyone following contemporary Vietnamese art, and for those curious to see furniture craft cross over into sculpture and installation.

   Manzi is an art centre with three addresses: Manzi Café & Art shop at 14 Phan Huy Ích, the exhibition space at 2 ngõ Hàng Bún and Manzi Art Space in Hội An.

   The studio is open Tuesday to Sunday and closed on Mondays.

   Give it an unhurried afternoon: take a blue chair and let the room do the talking.