Danh Vo is a Vietnamese-Danish artist whose work turns personal experience into profound political commentary. Born during the final days of the Vietnam War and raised in Denmark after fleeing as a refugee, Vo’s practice explores identity, displacement, and the legacies of imperialism.
Artistic Philosophy
Vo is less interested in creating new images than in reframing existing ones. Through found objects, text, and fragmented sculpture, he interrogates how systems—religion, state, family—shape our lives and memories. His art insists that the personal is inseparable from the political.
Signature Work
Vo’s We the People project—a fragmented replica of the Statue of Liberty—illustrates his approach perfectly: taking a symbol of freedom and showing it in pieces. In other works, he incorporates family letters, historical documents, and Catholic iconography to reflect on migration and memory.
Process
ProcessVo often collaborates with his own family, asking his father to write calligraphy or including documents from their past. His process is archival, conceptual, and emotional. Each piece is both deeply specific and universally resonant.
Why Her Work Matters
In an era of fractured histories and global dislocation, Vo offers an intimate, powerful way to re-encounter the past. His work helps us see how identity is formed—not just by where we come from, but by what we carry forward.