(Abstract) 

Curator: Welcome. We're standing before an untitled abstract painting by Bui Xuan Phai. It's painted with acrylic, and although undated, it is considered to be within his later works. Editor: Immediately, I’m drawn to the feeling of chaotic energy—a wildness tamed by structure. It feels like peering into the intricate workings of a complex clock or maybe an abstract city. Does it give you the same feeling? Curator: In many ways it does! It is not unusual that he would present works reflecting the social anxiety, constraint and perhaps urban confinement prominent under socio-political restriction in Hanoi at the time he produced these abstractions. Editor: Confinement definitely rings true. But then there's the almost joyful colour palette! Pink, blue, red dancing amongst black outlines. Are you telling me that the artist intentionally created dissonance between content and application? Curator: The painting becomes part of a political game where messages are communicated under duress but also through a vibrant explosion of patterns which becomes its own form of subversive social critique. The artist also had to rely on coded abstract communications simply in order to survive, artistically. Editor: What kind of commentary are you reading here—urban development? Cultural struggle? Something else entirely? To me, these structures feel like neurons firing, networks buzzing—almost internal. I have a curious feeling. It’s exhilarating! Curator: Exactly. So there’s something universally relatable happening here, about society in constant, hectic formation—it asks viewers to challenge perceived limitations on self-expression and resist being confined, artistically or politically. It may very well resonate with people on both local and universal levels. Editor: It's that resonance that keeps me hooked, makes me ask questions of this painting. Even though it's "untitled" and categorized as abstraction—the work vibrates, speaks! I find the title itself very funny considering all that it tells me, ha! Curator: That tension is vital to his creative statement! Art historians play their public role so that people learn that "abstraction" here can point back toward real conditions on the ground in Hanoi under particular historical conditions and the value of subversive art at large! Thank you for your input! Editor: It’s been an experience; thanks for yours! To think something "abstract" could still offer an urgent message. Food for thought.