in Location One’s Project Space

OPENING RECEPTION: Wednesday 9 January, 6-8 pm
on view 10 – 19 January 2008

Location One is happy to present new work by residents Moira Ricci and Hung Nguyen Manh.

Central to Moira Ricci’s work is the world of the family home as the natural arena in which relationships are played out. Putting aside her own emotions, Ricci turns her personal narrative into fertile ground for thinking about the world we live in.

Moira Ricci – 2008

“Ora sento la musica, Chiudo gli occhi, Sento il ritmo che mi avvolge, Fa presa nel mio cuore“ (“Well I hear the music, close my eyes, feel the rhythm, wrap around, take a hold of my heart)
is the title of Moira’s new video piece. She states: “This video is the first leg of a musical film. This initial work focuses around the topic of dance, a short story of my life, a piece of my past. It recalls the world I come from, that of dance and of my little town in Italy. The idea was born from my mother’s aspiration that I might become a professional dancer. I pursued that course until I was 18, but after high-school, I decided to take a different path, and this caused my mother to be disappointed. Much of my work is constructed from home videos, often taken by my mother during shows organized at my dance school. Here, my mother’s point of view is clearly perceptible. The video is edited following the rhythm and lyrics of “What a Feeling” – the most popular title of Flash Dance, the iconic dance film of the ‘80s. It The lyrics also appear in Italian as subtitles, because they bring out exactly the motivations of a young person pursuing a dream.”

Hung Nguyen Manh – 2007

“Paintings 2007“ by Hung Nguyen Manh
“I love humor, and I like to make a joke about everything. Su-realism is a useful language which helps me create fun. I also mix in hi-tech and lo-tech elements in my paintings. I was born and raised in an apartment block in Hanoi – Vietnam. My father was a fighting pilot, and my mother was an engineer for the Vietnam Rail Way Corporation. No one in my family was concerned about art. In my eyes, Vietnam is one of the strangest countries in the world. People work and behave according to certain habits originating from the agricultural way of life. We live, quarrel, build, eat…just like farmers do. In Vietnam, the culture of the village persists and has a hidden power that affects all the population. Even though we are rushing towards capitalism, this life style shall never disappear. This is what makes Vietnamese people always special, wherever they are.”

On January 11th at 7pm Hung Nguyen Mahn will make a special sound performance at 20 Greene Street.

About the Artists
Moria Ricci graduated from the Accademia di Belle Arti di Brera, Milan in 2004 after attending Photography School at C.F.P.R., Milan. Recent exhibitions include: 2007 – Galleria d’Arte Contemporanea, Monfalcone, Italy; Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna, Rome; Palazzo Re Enzo, Bologna. At Location One, Moira’s ressdency is supported by Associazione Artegiovane, Fondi Anima and Comune di Milano.

Hung Nguyen Manh is an artist, a self-taught composer and an active participant in the alternative art scene in Hanoi. A graduate from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts in 2002, he has participated regularly in performance art festivals in Japan and Taiwan. In 2005, he was a grant recipient of the Ford Foundation which enabled him to exhibit in Los Angeles , and in 2006, a grant from the Dong Son Today Foundation funded his participation at ART OMI residency program Ghent, NY. At Location One, Hung benefits from a grant from the Asian Cultural Council.