Many people think of Vietnamese art as cheap copies of great masters. The words tacky, garish and rip-off come to mind. However, dig a little deeper and you can find some absolute treasures. With a long history of encouraging artists, Hanoi is rising from the ashes as an artistic phoenix.

Wang Keping was one of the founding members of the Stars Group of Chinese artists in post-Mao China. The group, which is celebrating its 30th. Anniversary of its 1979 art exhibition, became the first protest movement to reject the communist regime's propaganda art and call for democracy and freedom of expression for all Chinese people.