Their time to shine

Lakeside: Ho Guom (Sword Lake) by HCM City Fine Arts College lecturer Le Xuan Chieu. Talk to the hand: Toi Dang Lang Nghe (I Am Listening) by Tran Thi Ngoc Linh, a student at the HCM City Fine Arts College.

HCM CITY — A group of 52 artists from HCM City is presenting an overview of current lacquer paintings at their exhibition at the HCM City Fine Arts College.

Son Mai Sai Gon 2011 (Sai Gon Lacquer) features more than 50 works in different styles, using the traditional material of lacquer.

Being a native of northern province of Ha Tay (now part of Ha Noi), the influence of Le Xuan Chieu's birthplace can be seen in his art works.

The lecturer of the city's Fine Arts College's highlighted work is Ho Guom (Sword Lake), featuring Vietnamese girls in traditional costume ao dai (traditional long dress) at Ho Guom, a landmark of Ha Noi.

Like Chieu, landscapes and beautiful women are also sources of inspiration of veteran artists like 83-year-old Hoang Tram's Ha Long (Ha Long Bay) and Ca Le Dung's Xom Cau Van (Cau Van Village).

This year's exhibition features works of artists born in the 1980s, including students of the city's Fine Arts College Tran Thi Ngoc Linh and Vu Thi Thuy Dung.

The youngest participant, Linh of the college, brings a modern breath and image to her lacquer work. Linh's Toi Dang Lang Nghe (I Am Listening) portrays a girl in modern clothes listening to music with an earphone.

Held for the first time last year, the event falls on December 21 of the lunar calendar, the day that honours the memory of the ancestor who founded Vietnamese lacquer-making.

The exhibition remains open until February 12 at the Applied Arts Gallery at HCM City Fine Arts College, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, Binh Thanh District. — VNS

Related Articles

• Their time to shine
• Students earn extra money around Tet
• Vietnam Air accepts web check-in for int’l flights
• Delayed floods disappoint farmers
• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand

‘Sharp' exhibition hits the right notes

Taking a breather: Nghi ngoi (Resting), an oil painting by Luong Luu Bien, is one of 26 works by seven artists on display at the Dau Thang exhibition at HCM City Fine Arts University's Applied Arts Centre.

HCM CITY — Seven HCM City artists born in the 1970s display their artistic evolution in a group show of paintings and installation works at the Dau Thang (Sharp) exhibition at the HCM City Fine Arts University Applied Arts Centre.

The name of the show, which contains 26 paintings and a sculpture, refers to a music notation that indicates a note is higher in pitch by a semitone (half step).

"It is an example of a difference in creation, meaning differences to yourself, and differences between you and others," say artists.

Artist Bui Tien Tuan said he was affected by the beauty of women, which offered him "unlimited sources of inspiration".

The 39-year-old artist's five paintings depict women in poses of innocence, sexiness and assertion.

His paintings contain traditional Vietnamese material, including silk, which is often used to express the beauty of landscapes and inner feelings.

But Tuan uses the material to highlight his ideas about the arts and women.

Tuan, a graduate of the HCM City Fine Arts University, won the silver prize at the National Fine Arts Exhibition in Ha Noi last month.

He has had several solo and group exhibitions in Ha Noi, HCM City and Seoul.

Another artist, Luong Luu Bien, has five oil paintings that depict the inner life of people.

The exhibition also highlights acrylic and oil paintings by Nguyen Son, Vo Duy Don and Phuong Quoc Tri.

Their colleague, Mac Hoang Thuong, displays seven portrait sketches, while La Huy uses wax and newspaper to create his installation work.

All seven artists have held successful exhibitions in Viet Nam this year.

The exhibition at the university's Applied Arts Centre is at No 5 Phan Dang Luu Street and runs until December 31. — VNS

Related Articles

• Painters show works inspired by nature, nostalgia
• Three species discovered in Vietnam
• Greenback firmer on signs of rising demand