Amid a new wave of coronavirus outbreak, museums and galleries across Da Nang are closing their doors.

The contemporary art sculpture 'Unbounded' is on display in the campus of the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum (Photo: the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum)

Currently, some of the city's museums are using such popular social networks as Facebook and Twitter to organise online exhibitions and virtual tours in an effort to help their audience access remotely these events during the coronavirus crisis.

The Da Nang Fine Arts Museum is a typical example.

The museum is making a 3D video to introduce pieces of fine art that are on display in the museum, including a stone sculpture called 'Unbounded' created by US multimedia artist Mark Cooper, to the public.

The 'Unbounded' stone sculpture is created by US multimedia artist Mark Cooper and artisan Nguyen Loi from Non Nuoc Stone Carving Village in Da Nang.

Mark Cooper was born in 1950 in Evansville, Indiana, the USA. He is living in Boston, Massachusetts working mostly in ceramics, sculptural installation, and painting. He is also a lecture of the Boston University and the School of the Museum of Fine Arts at Tufts University in the USA.

He has organised numerous exhibitions around the world, including in the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum and the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum.

In particular, in Da Nang, the US artist opened an exhibition of contemporary art entitled ‘Bridge’ at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum in March 2019. This event displayed 35 multimedia art works created by Mark Cooper along with overseas Vietnamese artist Vu Trong Thuan.

Mark Cooper said, during his stay in Da Nang for the ‘Bridge’ exhibition, he was deeply impressed by the hospitability and friendliness of local residents. This has inspired him to create a contemporary sculpture about innocent, witty and gentle smiling faces representing the hospitability of Da Nang's people.

"I am so honoured and grateful to have received wonderful welcome with very hospitable and friendly residents of Da Nang. I hope that my 'Unbounded' work will help deepen the relationships between the two country, and narrow the two countries' gaps in history and culture” said Mark Cooper.

The 'Unbounded' work was firstly made from ceramic materials in August 2019 by Mark Cooper. Then, in early 2020, the US artist travelled to Viet Nam and worked with artisan Nguyen Loi to create the sculpture from marble material.

The piece of work features 3 sculpting blocks measuring 130cm x 220cm x 150cm,  120cm x 200cm x 140cm, and 100cm x 150cm x 80cm respectively.

In the process of making the work, artist Mark Cooper must return to the USA, so he and artisan Nguyen Loi must regularly exchange their work on the Internet. Despite the language barrier, the creation of the stone sculpture was officially completed on 23 July, and it was then on display at the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum.

“I am honoured and proud to have worked with Mr Mark Cooper, a famous artist of the world's contemporary arts.  It took us nearly one year to create the stone sculpture. I hope that this piece of work will help the people of Da Nang, and Viet Nam as a whole, understand more about contemporary art” said artisan Nguyen Loi.

Deputy Director of the Da Nang Fine Arts Museum Nguyen Thi Trinh said, during a 15-day period of social distancing, the museum has promoted the use of social media to connect with its audiences.

Also, 3D movies showcasing the museum's space and its latest exhibits, especially 60 sketches of the battlefield and the 'Unbounded' stone sculpture, will be introduced to the public.

"During the closure period of the museum, our staff will rearrange exhibition spaces inside the museum in a bid to make our venue more inviting to visitors after reopening our museum" Deputy Director Trinh said.

By XUAN DUNG - Translated by MAI DUNG