The structure of Untitled, 2020 is drawn from the architecture of the Dong (Kam) people, a minority population found in the hills bordering the Chinese provinces of Guizhou, Hunan and Guangxi. On a visit to the region, Vo was charmed by these simple pavilions, found on the edges of fields and roads, used by farmers, children and townsfolk as gathering places, or simply to shelter from the sun and rain. The region is rich in pine forests, and the pavilions are constructed with fine cedar. A distinctive feature is their hanging central column, which allows for more height within the space, supported by six beams that intersect with six outer pillars, all held together by the traditional building technique of tenons and mortise links. Vo has featured a variety of versions in exhibitions since 2018, for the viewer they function as communal refuges from the often austere, even corporate, context of institutional contemporary art. A flexible and adaptable structure, the pavilion is left unfinished, without a roof, exposing its inner intricacy and enabling the work to host a cornucopia of vibrant plants.
Last letter of St. Jean Théophane Vénard to his father before he was decapitated, copied by Danh Vo’s father, Phung Vo. Each handwritten text arrives in an envelope mailed by the artist’s father directly to the buyer.
