‘Floating on the River’ is a medium size lacquer on wood figurative painting created by Vietnamese artist Truong Tan in 2008. Featuring a palette made of gold, orange and black colors, the painting strikes with its minimalist yet strong presence. Drawing from his own identity and exploring perceptions of homosexuality in a traditional conservative milieu, Truong Tan depicts here on a textured golden background, men with stylized faces, broad shoulders and thin waists, walking, tripping or falling. Their hand extended, they exude a deep sense of loneliness and anonymity. The mix between a traditional technique, lacquer on wood, and a modern style, is intended to challenge our understanding of identity and freedom of expression. With its purity of lines and deep subject matter, this unframed lacquer on wood figurative painting will be a strong focal point in any room, whether placed above a sofa, console table or chest-of-drawers.

Truong Tan currently lives and works in both Hanoi and Paris. Truong Tan was born in 1963 and graduated in 1989 from the University of Fine Arts in Hanoi, Vietnam. Truong Tan’s unique artistic perspective is rooted in his struggles to maintain and express his sexuality in a sexually repressed society. As an openly gay artist, Truong Tan has long fought for the opportunity to exhibit his art whose overarching theme relates to his homosexuality. Truong Tan’s difficulties in exhibiting his work in Vietnam forced him to move to Paris receiving world-wide acclaim. Working primarily with lacquer on wood, Truong Tan has mastered this medium with a distinct style and voice.