Presented as part of Berlin Art Week, every water has the right place to be in by Vietnam-born artist Anh Trần brings together the nature of water and the human state of aimlessness in abstract paintings. The exhibition is a visual journey shaped by the artist’s lyrical, exuberant, and at times tempestuous brushstrokes—a fluid space bridging form and emotion, gesture and memory.
Trần’s canvases are a product of both bodily and intuitive language. Where paint dilutes, hardens, or burns, we witness the physical manifestation of emotion. At times, the artist inscribes their name (“anh”) with golden oil pastel, embedding their presence into the canvas’s texture, only to erase these traces again—a gesture mirroring the formation and dissolution of identity. This act carries both personal and cultural echoes: migration, alienation, yet also a search for belonging.
A recurring horizontal black line—what Trần calls a “river”—acts as a pause within the complex layers of the paintings. Emerging spontaneously in their work after migrating from Vietnam to Europe, this form serves as a metaphor for the artist’s quest for their own place. The colors—deep navy blues, rust reds, earthy tones—evoke water’s dual nature, both cleansing and murky.
The concept of lãng du, a Vietnamese term for aimless, melancholic wandering, informs Trần’s paintings. Like this wandering, the works are not about arriving but gliding through a state of visual consciousness, as if each brushstroke decides the flow of water in the moment.
Though Vietnam has little tradition of abstract painting, Trần reimagines this language as a personal memoir. By blending classical silk techniques with an abstract approach, they both connect to and transform tradition. For Trần, abstraction is a form of expression where emotions are not directly stated but deeply felt.
The every water has the right place to be in exhibition presents paintings of a fluid, ever-shifting identity—moving from form to form like water. It’s a space of balance where every drop, color, and gesture finds its place, sometimes murky, sometimes clear, but always right, as the artist suggests: “every water has the right place to be in.”
Exhibition Details:
Artist: Anh Trần
Dates: On view through October 11, 2025
Venue: Off-site Location, Bleibtreustraße 20, 10623 Berlin
