Thảo Nguyên Phan was born in 1987 in Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), where she lives and works. She develops an original visual language in which pictorial material is combined with different media and supports – installations, sculptures, videos, textiles, books… In her cinematic works, painting comes to life, creating a dreamlike imagery in which traditions, ancestral tales, literature, philosophy and everyday life merge. The artist is interested in the complex history of Vietnam, particularly the environmental and social changes linked to colonial history and the impact of human activities. Thảo Nguyên Phan’s narratives blend reality and fiction, poetically revealing the unconscious part of this history. Whether it’s the Mekong River, French missionaries or modernist architecture and art, the artist delicately highlights the changing reflections of her country.

Recent solo exhibitions include “Reincarnations of Shadows” (Pirelli HangarBiccoca, Milan, 2023 and Kunsthal Charlottenborg, Copenhagen, 2024); Tate St Ives (UK, 2022); “Monsoon Melody” (WIELS, Brussels, 2020); “Becoming Alluvium” (Fundació Joan Miró, Barcelona, 2019 and Chisenhale gallery, London, 2020). She has taken part in numerous group exhibitions, including: Klima Biennale (Vienna, 2024); 59th Venice Biennale, Manifesta 14 (Kosovo) and Kochi-Muziris Biennale (2022); 15th Lyon Biennale and Sharjah Biennale (2019). Thảo Nguyên Phan is also a member of the Art Labor collective (with artist Trương Công Tùng and curator Arlette Quỳnh-Anh), working in between visual arts, social sciences and life sciences in various contexts and public spaces. She is represented by Galerie Zink (Germany).