The historic MNAAG library houses the installation of Thu-Van Tran: Faits du même bois. The work of the artist (born in 1979) was built through the prism of her double culture, of the colonial history which links her two countries, and of the generalized systems of exploitation of man and nature in across the globalized world. Her work favors sculpture and molding, but also explores painting, film and installation.

In the heritage and living heart of the museum, in this place where Buddhist ceremonies were organized by Mr. Guimet, Thu-Van Tran opted for the exhibition route rather than the in situ gesture. The forms or materials of his works are related to the books and the woodwork of the library. A rubber tree board welcomes spectators as soon as they arrive on the first floor. From the landing, dotting the vestibule, then in the center of the library, the artist's bronze banana leaves litter the ground, like so many traces or vestiges of human action in the forests of Asia. They are just as much a reintroduction of their presence, of their spirit within the museum.

"Made of the same wood" suggests that these leaves, whatever their provenance - greenhouse or tropical forest, are of a similar nature, disappeared in the bronze castings that have taken their place. They say that the unchanging cycle of nature, constrained and stained by history, remains inexorably entwined with men, humble and eager to understand it.

The works of Thu-Van Tran will also be presented in the exhibition “Making Worlds Exist”, curated by Kathy Alliou as well , at ASIA NOW from October 21 to 24, 2021

The MNAAG hosts the first large-scale exhibition of Huong Dodinh.

The artist (born in 1945) has built, for more than five decades, a unique work, refined, vibrant, spiritual and universal, without seeking to exhibit it. Her quest for light, his fascination with snow and immaculate white, are found in the clarity, density and transparency that define his work.

For the artist: "Art is a form of approach towards opening up to oneself and to the other". It also helps forge the link between Vietnam, his country of origin, and France, his adopted country. This double richness influences his approach to pictorial techniques. Huong Dodinh smooths all her canvases herself, and manufactures all of the mineral pigments and binder necessary for her work. The artist also draws inspiration from the Vietnamese lacquer technique, layering multiple layers of paint to give the canvases a singular depth, a density that does not absorb light, but reflects it from within.

For MNAAG's Champa Hall, Huong Dodinh chose to exhibit works produced after 1993, when she made a return trip to her native country. She evokes her memories facing Ha Long Bay with coated papers mounted on wood. A second series of works, produced over the past twenty years, is on display at the Heidelbach Hotel.