Born in 1983, Nguyễn Quốc Dũng is a Ho Chi Minh-based artist with a background in graphic design and painting. Having witnessed the rapid urbanisation in Vietnam, he creates works that look sharply into the social conditions of marginalised communities in his city, including transgender individuals and migrant workers. Nguyễn’s art adopts a seemingly colourful and light-hearted visual style, yet it is infused with tension, subtlety, and moments of awkwardness. He stages encounters with socially invisible subjects in their most intimate quarters, especially in family settings. Navigating the fine line between familiarity and alertness, intimacy and insecurity, he aims to invoke a sense of ambiguity, as such to recompose our notions of family and the forms of relationships within the shifting socio-political structure. Through his critically charged work, Nguyễn keenly reveals the vulnerable realities that emerge amid dramatic social changes.
Making his debut in auctions worldwide with Phillips Hong Kong at New Now, Nguyễn Quốc Dũng represents a rising force in the Southeast Asian art market. He has participated in group exhibitions across the region, including his home country of Vietnam, as well as Indonesia and Singapore. His first solo exhibition, Existing and Skeptical, took place at Gallery Q7 in Ho Chi Minh City in 2021, followed by his first solo exhibition in Singapore, The Live of Others, at Hatch Art Project in 2023. Most recently, he was featured in the group exhibition The Giao Bien - Traversing Realms at Wiking Salon in Ho Chi Minh City, running from December 23, 2023, to February 4, 2024.