Tran Luong (b. 1960, Hanoi, Vietnam; based in Hanoi) is a renowned interdisciplinary artist, independent curator and social activist. As a leading figure in the Vietnamese art community, Tran has also been a mentor to younger generations of artists and a key figure in artistic development and dialogue within Hanoi and the Vietnamese diaspora.
His paintings, performances, videos, objects, and installations have been exhibited internationally. Tầm Tã - Soaked in the Long Rain , an exhibition curated by Biljana Ciric, opened in 2024 at the Jameel Arts Centre, Dubai, UAE and subsequently traveled to Govett-Brewster Art Gallery, New Zealand and The Art Gallery of Western Australia in Perth, where it is currently on view.
Tran has participated in exhibitions at Singapore Art Museum; Macau Museum of Art, China; Asia Culture Center, Gwangju, Korea; Fukuoka Asian Art Triennial, Japan; Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan; Mori Art Museum, Tokyo; Taipei Fine Art Museum, Taipei; Yokohama Museum of Art and Contemporary Art Museum, Kumamoto, Japan and his performances have been staged in the U.S., Singapore, China, Korea, Japan, Poland, Myanmar, and Indonesia, among other countries.
Tran co-founded a collective known as Gang of Five (1983-1996) who actively exhibited in alternative spaces and institutions, rejecting the prevalent social realism favored by the state of Vietnam. In 1998, Tran co-founded Nha San Studio, the country’s first artist-led, experimental art space and curated most of its exhibitions in the initial four years. Tran was also a founding director of the Hanoi Contemporary Art Centre in 2000 but resigned in 2003 in protest of government corruption. In 2020, he co-founded the APD Center, a center focused on supporting the overlapping development between contemporary art and social development.
As a curator, Tran has mounted exhibitions in venues throughout Vietnam and internationally, most notably as a part of the curatorial team of the 2013 Singapore Biennial. Tran also organized and curated the Mao Khe Coal Mine Project , a series of interactive sessions, workshops, and performances with miners in rural areas, and On the Bank of Red River , a two-week practice and an interactive performance staged in a disadvantaged area of Hanoi.
Bortolami