CRITICAL APPRAISAL: Danh Vo
Danh Vo, Untitled, 2020,
1st century CE Roman marble sculpture fragment, plants, birch plywood, 18th century wood carved putto fragment and glass, 27 x 52.7 x 28.5 cm
Making work with living plants is new for Danh Vo. In an interview, he explains that he ‘does not have a distinction between life and art,…’ and he applies this to a new found enjoyment of gardening. He began a garden 3 years ago at a time when his desire to travel began to wane. He noticed seasons, where he had never done so before. ‘Surrounding yourself with plants in order to observe’ is something he recommends everyone to experience.
Untitled was shown in Vo’s Chicxulub exhibition at the White Cube. This work appeared alongside many configurations of fragments and plants shown in the South Gallery. Hung above each was a strong artificial light, intentionally differing from the warmth emanating from other parts of the gallery. This could have created an estranged and uncomfortable sensation for the viewer, but was negated by the greenness of the plants, installing instead a sense of calm.
Untitled is made up of fragments from a mix of millennia, from Roman marble sculpture and 18th century carved putto to contemporary materials of wood, glass and living plants. Vo’s use of fragments is a consequence of experiencing an immigrant background. It is in his interest to be economical, to simply bring the fragments together in another way. This work created new life, new positions and new pairings. Vo has opened up new and different meanings and as Dr. Jennifer Sliwka suggests, provides them as generous offerings.
Vo is sceptical of systems whether social or political and he believes that, ‘someone has created for you what you should do or think’. In Western architecture, he describes cycle lanes and hand rails, for example, as forms of demarcating direction and allocating space for specific activity. Vo wants to see how the space fits for him, to embrace contradiction.
To not understand what you are looking at, to have expectations disrupted, Vo seeks to encourage the viewer to truly think for themselves, to understand that contradictions are real.
Quotes and image used come from these 3 sources:
Virtual online walkthrough with Dr Jennifer Sliwka https://whitecube.com/channel/channel/danh_vo_bermondsey_tour_2020
http://ex-chamber-memo5.seesaa.net/article/477821539.html
Originally written on the 29 JANUARY 2021