Our current exhibition, Kenny Nguyen: The Divine Eye, is an evocative, large-scale installation that invites viewers to engage with the rich spiritual and cultural history of Vietnam through the lens of Caodaism. Rooted in the synthesis of Eastern and Western philosophies, Caodaism—a syncretic religion founded in Vietnam in the 1920s—serves as both inspiration and metaphor in this powerful work. 

Caodaism emerged in response to the tumultuous history of Vietnam in the early 20th century, during a time of colonial occupation and national struggle. In the face of foreign domination and the erosion of indigenous cultural practices, Caodaism synthesized elements from Buddhism, Taoism, Confucianism, Christianity, and other world religions to form a unifying spiritual force. This blending of influences mirrors the hybrid nature of Vietnam’s own history, where indigenous traditions intertwined with external forces—whether colonial, political, or cultural—shaped the nation’s identity. Caodaism’s architecture embodies the collision and coexistence of these two worlds. 

Learn about Caodaism from Dr. Janet Hoskins, one of the leading scholars of the religion, in a fascinating lecture, which is free and open to the public. 

About Janet Hoskins: 

Janet Hoskins is Professor of Anthropology and Religion at the University of Southern California, Los Angeles. She has done extensive field research in Indonesia, Vietnam and California, as well as shorter periods of research in Cambodia, Laos, and Malaysia and archival work in the Netherlands and France. From 2011-2013 she was the President of the Society for the Anthropology of Religion, a section of the American Anthropological Association. Her current research interests are the emerging field of Transpacific Studies, post colonial studies, transnational religion, visual anthropology and ethnographic film, material culture, indigenous theories of time and history, gender, exchange and ritual. 

 In 2014-2015, she has published two new books: the edited collection (with Viet Thanh Nguyen) Transpacific Studies: Framing an Emerging Field (2014) and The Divine Eye and the Diaspora: Vietnamese Syncretism Becomes Transpacific Caodaism (2015), both from University of Hawaii Press.