Through his practice, Nguyễn Duy Mạnh seeks to highlight the vulnerability and disintegration of cultural values. He reflects the trauma that unsettles the spiritual life of individuals confronted with contemporary realities. His ceramics draw inspiration primarily from the Chu Đậu ceramic style. The artist reinvents this traditional practice by painting motifs from the Lý-Trần period (11th–14th centuries) and the Lê Sơ dynasty (15th century). Yet, these works also carry a subtle critique of contemporary Vietnamese society, where traditional values of respect and community collide with individualism, materialism, and consumerism.
A selection of his exhibitions includes: Art Paris, 2026; First Bone, Then Skin…, Galerie Bao, 2025; Dirty & Disorderly: Contemporary Artists on Disgust, MASSMoCA, Massachusetts, 2025; Untamed Souls, Galerie BAO, Paris, 2024; Becoming Alice: Through The Metal Tunnel, The Outpost, Hanoi, 2024; The Inner Space, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi, 2016; Yin and Yang in Contemporary Sculpture, The Muse Art Space, Hanoi, 2023; Vietnam National Fine Arts Exhibition, Hoa Lư, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2020; Bịt mắt bắt dê, Ngo Quyen Art Center, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2019; among others.
