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Founded by a young artist named Nguyen Minh Phuoc, Ryllega is the first commercial gallery in Hanoi to concentrate on presenting non-commercial work, primarily performances and installations. Phuoc, who also works in these mediums, told me that the name of the establishment (an anagram of "gallery") signifies his ambition to "do things differently" from other dealers.

One evening last spring, about 40 spectators gathered to watch a performance, titled Nuoi (Bring Up), by another young Vietnamese artist, Le Vu. The artist sat in a small black chair facing the gallery's front entrance, which was open to the street. In another small chair at a short distance sat his father, also facing the front. The two men were dressed identically in black. Behind them was arranged a row of three large tropical plants on tables. The installation receded into the depth of the gallery, a whitewashed space about as big as a two-car garage but with a higher (about 12 feet) ceiling.

Another young artist associated with the gallery approached Le Vu's father and with a pair of tweezers, extracted a gray hair from his head and placed it on Le Vu's upper forehead so that it hung down over his eye. This process was repeated for about 45 minutes, until many hairs were arranged over the artist's eyes. Both Le Vu and his father sat stock still through the performance.

Ryllega is located in downtown Hanoi near the Opera House and several of high-end tourist hotels, guaranteeing a number of casual observers. During the performance, passersby stopped to watch. People on motorbikes, the most common means of transport in Hanoi, slowed down and rubbernecked.

Le Vu has previously worked with aspects of the body. In 2002 he made a video of northern Vietnamese coal miners showering after a day's work. The viewer witnessed the long daily process of cleaning coal dust off their bodies. Nuoiwas even more visceral as well as being transgressive: it flouted the Vietnamese tradition of honoring elders. With allusions to nurturing and growth (in the title and the presence of household plants), Le Vu clearly acknowledged continuity while also suggesting that his father's generation, which fought the war and perpetuates Vietnam's ideologies, is passing on a legacy that obstructs a younger generation's vision. Le Vu's elegant eye and his ability to create jarring psychological situations mark him as one of the most riveting young artists working in Hanoi.

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