Three Vietnamese artists have been named on the list of top record holders in Asia in 2013, according to the Asia Record Organization.

Painter Dang Ai Viet (L) (photo: SGGP)

They are Meritorious Artist-Director Nguyen Van Luong, painter Truong Han Minh and painter Dang Ai Viet.

Director Nguyen Van Luong sets an Asia record for making the most number of films in different categories on the country, 221 in all, and many on the people and islands of Vietnam since 1988 to present day.

Painter Truong Han Minh was recognized for having the most watercolor paintings which were auctioned for charity. About 200 art works were sold at auctions from 1977 to 2013.

Truong Han Minh was born in 1951 in Cho Lon in Ho Chi Minh City. He originally came from Guang Dong in China. He had a passion for painting since early childhood. Truong Han Minh is also Chairperson of the Chinese Fine Arts Association and a member of Vietnamese Fine Arts Association. He has taught at many Art schools in the City.

The painter is a master in traditional Chinese watercolor paintings in Vietnam with 60 years experience in watercolor painting.

His paintings have been displayed at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum; Ho Chi Minh City Museum; Museum of the Nationalities in Vietnam; and in many other countries such as the U.S., France, Australia, Canada, Japan, China and Taiwan (China).

Painter Dang Ai Viet was recognized for painting 1,000 portraits of Heroic Mothers. The paintings depict the different faces of Heroic Mothers whose sons and daughters died in the American War. The works show their happiness as well as their pain.

As a former soldier herself and a mother, the painter understands the pain suffered by the Heroic Mothers. “They are typical images of Vietnamese women’s sacrifice and indomitable spirit. I want to save all their faces for future generations”, she said.

The certificates will be presented to the record holders in late May, during the Director General of the Asian Record Organization’s visit to the three Indochina countries of Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia.

Email to a friend

Print

Email feedback

To top

City life: Cyclo, a water colour from Choe’s collection on display at the Tu Do Gallery in HCM City.

The works are from Choe’s two collections Women of My Country and Vision d’Ete 1998 (Summer Landscapes 1998) that are kept by his family.

Women of My Country consists of 10 water colours done for Asian Cartoon, an exhibition held in Japan in 1995.

The paintings contain irony and metaphoric descriptions of the hardship faced by Vietnamese women.

One painting has a woman carrying her husband and children on a shoulder pole and another has one driving a cyclo with a TV, motorcycle, other appliances and even a car.

Vision d’Ete 1998 comprises 20 oil on canvas paintings done when he was in France for treatment. It was exhibited at the Savigny le Temple commune in France.

In this collection, Choe used oil paints to depict French landscapes of the Eiffel Tower, Arc de Triomphe, as well as images of former French President Jacques Chirac as a goalkeeper on the occasion of the World Cup 1998, which was held in France.

The exhibition also features other paintings on nature, like Nature and Life, and Twilight, as well as portraits of Vietnamese musicians, painters, poets and journalists.

Born in An Giang in 1944, Choe was an internationally acclaimed cartoonist. He died in 2003 in Virginia, the US.

His works have been exhibited in many solo and group exhibitions in Viet Nam, the US, France, Japan and Sweden.

His cartoons have been published in many newspapers in Viet Nam and other countries, including Tuoi Tre (Youth), Lao Dong (Labour), The New York Times and Okinawa Times.

Tu Do Gallery is located at 53 Ho Tung Mau Street, District 1. The exhibition will be open until May 31.

Source: VNS

The exhibit, initiated by artist Vo Xuan Huy, took place at Di Nau village in northern Phu Tho province’s Tam Nong district, which has been known for wax trees (rhus succedanea) and for resin collection activities that have been going on for hundreds of years.

The locals are thus no stranger to several-century-old wooden, lacquer-finished items which are plentiful at temples and pagodas within their village such as altars, horizontal lacquered boards (usually engraved with Chinese characters), worship wares and palanquins.

However, for most locals, it was their first time to personally see the paintings of modern art, which they can take pride in, given the striking artworks are made from the resin they collect every day.

“Cham”, which was a fuse of exhibition, installation and presentation, featured 25 lacquer paintings by Huy, with each tied to a wax plant.

“The wax plant is an integral part in lacquer making. Coming here I’m much more inspired to produce more works,” Huy shared.

“I’ve been to many exhibits, but this one, with the lacquer paintings displayed right in the wax forest, where the product materials come from, gives me such an interesting experience,” said Vo Dai Duong, a student from the Hue Arts University.

The farmers and art students gathered amidst the forest, listening intently to artist Vo Xuan Huy presenting on the several sophisticated phases of the lacquer producing process.

After several days, the collected resin settles into three different layers. The first two are made into lacquer paints while the lowest layer is used to make the ‘body’ of the painting.

The paints should be kept in airtight, humid rooms to accelerate the drying. Stropping the surface to give it high gloss and expose the hues beneath is also performed continuously between the phases, which gives the art its name ‘son mai’.

It thus takes at least six months to have a finished lacquer painting, with some phases subject to revision until they meet the artists’ satisfaction, Huy noted.

The farmers in turn gave presentations on various topics including characteristics of the wax plant, tree care-taking, resin collection and resin-allergy treatment.

Huy noted that based on the art ecosystem, Vietnamese lacquer paintings meet all criteria for sustainable development, including farming, resin collection, teaching, composing and exhibition.

However, in reality, the craft still lacks systematic development and interaction among those involved.

Painters can send their entries, in various materials and styles relating to Vietnam’s country and people and the two countries’ solidarity, to the organizing panel until August 10th.

The awards ceremony is scheduled to take place on September 20th.

In the mix: Hanh Phuc Vang (Golden Happiness) by Dao Quoc Huy is one among artworks displayed at the exhibition.

Entitled “Source of Happiness”, the exhibition features artworks examining family sentiment by veteran artists such as Tran Van Can, Le Quoc Loc and Vu Giang Huong; artists from the following generation including Tran Luu Hau, Huy Oanh and Nguyen Quan; as well as young artists Vu Cuong, Ha Chi Hieu and Dao Quoc Huy.

All the artworks on show have been picked up from the collections of the museum and the artists themselves.

On the same day, an educational activity session was held for groups of students and families in conjunction with the exhibition. They were invited to visit the artworks and then took part in a group discussion with the artists.

They were also given their own chance to create paintings on the theme of family sentiment and displayed the fruits of their labours in the museum’s outdoor space.

The participants also learned the subtleties of traditional crafts such as Dong Ho paintings, Bat Trang pottery and Chang Son paper fan.

The event aimed to draw attention to the museum’s image, activities and artefacts, while offering people, especially children, a chance to enjoy the artworks, understand Vietnamese family sentiment and experience creative activities, said Phan Van Tien, the museum’s director.

It followed on from the museum’s initiative to help the public and children improve their art knowledge through visiting the museum.

“We expect that by exploring the exhibition, all participants will respect Vietnamese family values and the nation’s traditional fine arts heritage,” he said.

The exhibition runs until May 29 at the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi.

Source: VNS

Category: Artists, Individual
Unit Price: US$20.00

Description: Published in 1999 by The Association of Fine Arts of HCMC, Vietnam. 68 pages, hard cover, 25 x 21 cm. Bilingual – Vietnamese, English.

Suggested price: US$20.00
Our price: US$20.00

Source : Vietnam Art Books

Category: Artists, Individual
Unit Price: US$30.00

Description: Published in 1999 by The Association of Fine Arts of HCMC, Vietnam. 68 pages, hard cover, 25 x 21 cm. Bilingual – Vietnamese, English.

Source : Vietnam Art Books

Fit for a King: Paintings depicting the Khiem Lang Mausoleum on display in the former royal capital of Hue.

The Khiem Lang Mausoleum from the Nguyen dynasty (1802-1945) already features in 28 paintings done by the artists in acrylic, lacquer and pen.

The paintings will be displayed at the tomb for visitors until tomorrow, May 17. They will then be sent to Hue Museum of Artefacts for another exhibition opening on Saturday, Nguyen Phuoc Hai Trung, the museum’s director, told Viet Nam News.

Since last Friday, the camp has been set up next to a beautiful lake, man-made hill and old buildings. It is the result of a suggestion by Hue Art Association.

“This is the most beautiful in the whole system of royal tombs in Hue,” said researcher Ho Tan Phan. “It is an amazing combination of facts and rituals from the past.”

Phan said the tomb belonged to the dynasty’s fourth king Duc Tong Anh, whose era name was Tu Duc (1847-83).

The king had the tomb built before his death to serve as a palace for himself and his royal harem to enjoy the lotus pond, fishing and composing poems.

Source: VNS

Competition entrants can use any medium to create their own original paintings on size A3 paper based on the theme of one of the ten original Dong Ho folk paintings, which were announced by the organising board. Children are encouraged to use bright colours, particularly the four basic colours of Dong Ho paintings, including black, green, yellow and red.

Each contestant is allowed to send up to three entries to the Heritage Inns, 115/9 Nui Truc Alley, Nui Truc Street, Ba Dinh district, Hanoi before July 16.

A awards ceremony and an exhibition to honour the 30 best entries will be held on August 10. The first prize winner will be presented a certificate of merit and cash prize of VND 5 million while two second and three third place winners will receive VND2 million and VND1 million each, respectively.

The 30 finalists will also win a field trip to the Dong Ho folk painting village to see how the traditional paintings are made.

The contest aims to help children to learn more about Dong Ho painting and encourage them to preserve and promote this valuable traditional Vietnamese art form.

The exhibition, called “Mua vang” (Golden rain), is set to take place at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum, 97 Pho Duc Chinh street, district 3, from June 8 to 16.

The exhibit will feature 21 lacquer paintings by the Thai diplomat along with 15 others by artist Hua Thanh Binh, the museum’s vice head.

In 2007, Suwannapongse held an exhibit of her lacquer paintings in Hanoi.

The Thai diplomat, who began painting since young, was instantly infatuated with Vietnamese lacquer and began to learn the art in Hanoi in 2006.

“The older the Vietnamese lacquer paintings are, the more striking their hues become. People in Thailand and Myanmar also use lacquer, but mostly as worship wares. Vietnamese lacquer thus boasts more artistic features,” The thao & Van hoa quoted Suwannapongse as saying.

Her paintings feature Thai topic matters such as her reverence to the Buddha and the Thai King on the Vietnamese lacquer, as a way to express her love for both countries.

Yellow, which stands for prosperity, revival and the good things in Thai culture, is a dominant color in her paintings.

They are created on materials like coins, gold, silver, stone, beads, mud, seashells and dust.

The coming exhibit is sponsored by Tira, a Thai art collector who boasts a prized collection of some 2,000 works by Vietnamese artists in different periods.