“Saigon is a city that assaults your senses in the best way imaginable. The smell of aromatic Phở gets confused with motorbike fumes. A sticky rice vendor navigates the street with a sporty BMW on one side and a nervous tourist on the other. Incessant chatter is heard from sidewalk cafes while pop music blares from nearby shops. Sporadic honking from all sorts of vehicles sound like a band that sees no need to rehearse. Construction is seen and heard in all directions.
Saigon is a city that seems to magically breathe and sneeze simultaneously. There’s a wonderful tension here that is fueled by individuals with passion, ambition and resolve. It can be dizzying at times, but if you keep your feet on the ground and your head down, you’ll discover some incredible patterns on the pavement tiles.”
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An indefatigable force in the Vietnamese art scene, Quynh Pham is the founder and director of Galerie Quynh, a contemporary art gallery in Saigon that promotes some of Vietnam’s most risk-taking artists. A cultural fixture in the city for 14 years, the gallery is known for its educational initiatives. In 2014 Quynh founded the not-for-profit Sao La, a young, diverse group of passionate creatives working loosely as a collective.
Quynh studied Art History/Criticism at the University of California, San Diego. She has worked in the arts for over 25 years with experience in galleries and museums including the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery at the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C. and the Museum of Contemporary Art, San Diego.
To learn more, visit:
www.galeriequynh.com