In his solo exhibition “Anyone can be beautiful – Volume 2”, Pham Thai Ho explores the sincerity of artistic creation and modesty in art. It is important to him to make it clear that art does not come into being on its own – it requires work, dedication and in-depth examination. A purely aesthetic representation does not replace this process, but remains on the surface. Ho thus draws a clear line between decorative beauty and true art.
He emphasizes that art must be more than mere aesthetics. Its value does not come from its visual appeal alone, but from its depth of content and its art-historical context. A true understanding of art goes beyond the obvious and requires an examination of the historical, cultural and conceptual background of a work.
Ho is particularly critical of the idea that the mere imitation of a work of art or a technique has the same significance as the original. He emphasizes that the creative process – the development of new ideas, experimentation and even failure – is essential for the depth and authenticity of a work.
At the same time, he calls on people to view art not just as a decorative object, but as an opportunity to broaden their own horizons. Instead of being influenced only by the external form of a work of art, the viewer should question the thoughts and emotions behind the work and engage with it more intensively.
The exhibition includes the video work “Cycle of Pain”. In this work, Ho tattoos a circle into the palm of his hand with a colorless needle. He uses the emerging blood to print it on paper and thus create a limited edition. This action is reminiscent of Viennese Actionism – Ho puts his own lifeblood into the art, while deliberately ignoring the pain.
Ho is also showing the “Honest Skin” series for the first time in Munich. For this, he tattoos silicone skin with motifs from the tattoo world – inspired by the tattoos of his customers, who wear their motifs on their skin through pain. Here, however, he presents the motifs in a painless form and uses his artistic freedom to reinterpret them.