Interview with: Van Viet Tran   

October 2025

 

Welcome Van Viet Tran (Trần Việt Văn), first tell us about your background and why you chose to pursue this career. Do you remember the first artwork that stirred something inside you?

I come from an intellectual family in Hanoi. My father, Trần Việt Ngữ, was a theater researcher who received the State Prize for Literature and Arts. My mother, Associate Professor Dr. Lê Thị Đức Hạnh, was a senior researcher at the Institute of Literature. My older brother, Trần Văn Việt, is both a teacher and a photographer. I was immersed in an artistic atmosphere from a very young age. When I was still in school, my father often took me to watch plays at various theaters, and he was also my first mentor — the one who edited my early writings before I sent them to newspapers. My brother was the person who taught me the very first steps in photography. After graduating from university, I became a journalist, and I’ve now worked in the field for over 30 years. To me, whether it is a pen or a camera, both are simply tools for expressing my voice about life. However, images always bring a more direct and powerful emotion — they allow me to “speak” more, and in a more captivating way. My first internationally awarded artwork was “Sharing a Belief”, which received the Excellent Prize from ACCU (Asia-Pacific Photo Contest, Japan) in 2000. The photo depicts an Australian girl in an off-shoulder dress respectfully praying to Buddha at the ancient Kim Liên Pagoda, beside a Vietnamese farmer woman in a traditional brown outfit doing the same. That image moved me deeply — because no matter where people live in this world, we all need a faith to redeem our souls and to heal the wounds within.

 

Do you think art that is created for commercial success loses its integrity, or can it still hold meaning?

I think art created for commercial purposes can lose its integrity if the artist “forgets” the true creative voice from within and instead chases after market trends or public taste. However, if the work still conveys genuine emotions, deep thinking, and a sharp personal idea, it can absolutely retain its value beyond the pursuit of profit. In that case, commercial success can even bring the artist a sense of fulfillment and excitement — because it means their work is being fairly rewarded. And when that happens, success itself becomes a way to spread the artwork’s message even further.

 

How would you describe your artistic practice? What are the recurring elements, themes, and concepts you refer to?

My philosophy of photography is that anyone can take beautiful pictures with digital devices such as tablets or smartphones. The true power of photography does not lie in creating a beautiful image, but in creating an image that tells a story. That image may be grotesque, rough, or even ugly, yet it can still connect with the viewer, evoke emotion, and spark an inner dialogue. Therefore, I do not confine myself to any fixed form of expression — instead, I choose the visual language that best serves each story. My photographs are not trapped within any specific format, which allows them to offer a variety of perspectives and emotions. In a single series, documentary or journalistic photos may intertwine with artistic ones; realism may merge with surrealism or minimalism. There might be square photos, long panoramas, vertical compositions, single images or diptychs, even triptychs. Some may be printed and then drawn over — all depending on the intention of the work. For me, every medium is merely a means to achieve the final artistic effect. There are no limits in expression — the only limit lies in the artist’s own talent and imagination. I enjoy working on long-term documentary and artistic projects such as “Faith and Life” (about the lives of monks), “Generals in Peacetime,” “To Be or Not to Be,” “Disconnected and Connected,” “My Mother,” “The Houses That Will Gradually Disappear,” and “Human Faces.” The underlying idea in my works is the search for connections — between humans and nature, body and will, time and memory — and often between things that seem unrelated but are, in fact, deeply intertwined. Ultimately, everything belongs to a vast and harmonious whole — the grand composition of the universe itself.

 

Artificial Intelligence is increasingly infiltrating creative fields. Do you see Artificial Intelligence as a threat, a tool, or a collaborator in the art world?

I don’t see Artificial Intelligence as a threat, but as a powerful tool — even a potential collaborator, a special assistant in the art world. AI can expand creativity, spark ideas, and help artists generate concepts faster, encouraging them to reach for their wildest visions and push beyond their own limits. However, the decisive element still lies within the artist — in those private artistic emotions, in the glistening drops of sweat on the face, and sometimes in the beauty of imperfection: an unbalanced composition, or a slight shake of the hand that blurs the photo… Therefore, AI can support and inspire, but it should never replace the artist’s voice — only encourage it, amplify it.

 

What do you think is the most meaningful role an artist plays in society today?

I believe the most meaningful role of an artist in today’s society is to awaken awareness to help people see, feel, and question the world around them more deeply. In an age filled with noise and haste, artists remind us to pause, to reflect on the true values of life, and to reconnect with ourselves to listen to the voice within. Ultimately, artists help us answer the timeless question: “Who are we, where do we come from, and where are we going?” each in their own way.

 

How do you envision the evolution of your work in the coming years?

My work will evolve in two directions. The first is toward minimalism, creating more silence and space for the viewer’s imagination, with greater subtlety and emotional depth. The second is the integration of other art forms, such as literature and painting, so that the work becomes truly multimedia, carrying multiple layers of meaning.

 

We are at the end of this short interview, would you like to add something about your artistic research?

How did you find the collaboration with our gallery?

For an artist, creating new work is always an obsession — or in other words, it is a constant struggle to surpass oneself. As the great painter Picasso once said, “It is forgivable to copy others, but to repeat yourself is disgraceful.” Finding inspiration is the most important thing; the most frightening thing is creative paralysis. There are times when I cannot think of anything new no matter how hard I try — and at those moments, I feel frustrated with myself, or worse, fall into a state of emptiness, neither sad nor happy. But somehow, it always passes naturally... Suddenly, a new idea emerges in an unexpected situation, completely unrelated to art — perhaps while talking to a businessperson or someone from a different field — and I call that the miracle of life. An artist must always start again from the beginning, with a kind of “crazy” passion, leaving all past successes behind. I have great admiration for the legend Steve Jobs, who was able to set aside his own legacy to start anew again and again. I am truly delighted to collaborate with Florence Contemporary Gallery for your professionalism and warmth. I hope this partnership will be just the beginning of more exciting and meaningful projects in the future.