Vietnam will debut at the 61st Venice Biennale with its first national pavilion, “Viet Nam: Art in the Global Flow,” at the newly restored Ca’ Giustinian Faccanon palace. Curated by Đỗ Tường Linh, the exhibition examines the evolution of contemporary Vietnamese art within a global context through works by 10 artists: Lê Hữu Hiếu, Nguyễn Thành Chương, Đoàn Thị Thu Hương, Bùi Hữu Hùng, Lê Hoàng Nguyên, Trịnh Tuân, Đinh Văn Quân, Nguyễn Trường Linh, Triệu Khắc Tiến, and Lê Nguyên Chính.

One confirmed project for the exhibition so far is by Hanoi-based artist Lê Hữu Hiếu (also known as Henry Le), a former architect turned visual artist who has been active over the past decade. Spanning mixed-media installations and lacquer paintings, his practice is rooted in research into Vietnamese history, folklore, and spirituality. Last April, he unveiled “From the Bach Đằng Victory to the Great Victory of April 30, 1975” (2025), a major outdoor exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City, commemorating the 50th anniversary of the nation’s reunification and the end of the American war in Vietnam. In 2021, Lê was the first Vietnamese artist to hold a solo presentation at the Arsenale Nord in Venice, titled “Soul Energy,” where he showcased 40 paintings and a monumental installation of human-sized iron sculptures.

Lê’s contribution to the pavilion is an immersive installation titled Tằm (which translates to “silkworm”). Comprising 12 sculptural guardian deities, a central house-like structure, and a large-scale lacquer painting, Tằm draws on the motif of the silkworm and its metamorphosis throughout life to explore themes of memory, creation, and the cyclical nature of existence. Aside from using culturally significant materials such as jackfruit wood, gold leaf, and eggshell, Tằm will incorporate live silkworms, further animating the piece. 

Speaking with Nhân Dân, Lê stated: “It is not only the joy of reaching an important milestone, but also a release after nearly a decade of pursuing what once seemed like a distant dream.” 

The 61st Venice Biennale runs from May 9 through November 22.

Annette Meier is an assistant editor at ArtAsiaPacific.