This year’s event, running from October 30 to November 8, includes around 20 Asian art exhibitions from galleries across various countries, along with over 20 auction sessions focused on Chinese, Japanese, Southeast Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Islamic art. It also features a seminar on Asian art with the attendance of top curators from major museums and galleries, as well as industry experts and scholars.
Sophie Kempson, Programme Development Director at AAL, said this is the first year AAL has organised exhibitions directly at renowned auction houses such as Sotheby’s, Bonhams, and Christie’s, creating opportunities to promote Asian arts as a broader audience attending auctions experiences new galleries or artists they may not have known.
The exhibition showcases a diverse collection of artworks by four artists, highlighting unique styles and perspectives across different generations of Vietnamese art. They include Phung Pham’s mastery of cubism on traditional Vietnamese lacquer, Le Thiet Cương’s minimalism with gouache on cheesecloth, Quynh Giang’s intense expressions through oil on canvas, and Ngo Van Sac’s distinctive wood-burn portraits.
Kempson said the exhibition offers a fresh view on contemporary Vietnamese art and provides an opportunity for international art enthusiasts to discover artists and works from the post-French-colonial era. She also expressed her admiration for the lacquer and woodburning pieces displayed at the exhibition.
Nguyen Dinh Long, a representative from Thang Long Art Gallery, said that through "A Glimpse of Vietnam," the gallery hopes to promote Vietnamese culture and contemporary art to foreign art lovers. He noted that the exhibitions being held at prestigious auction platforms like Sotheby’s, Christie’s, and Bonhams offer a valuable opportunity to showcase contemporary Vietnamese art alongside major global art forms.
AAL is an annual event founded in 1998, aimed at promoting Asian art in London’s art hub. It attracts galleries, prominent auction houses, and cultural organisations specialising in Asian art from the UK, Europe, and around the world./
