Ribbon cutting ceremony to open the exhibition “Sky, Mountains, Water | Allusive Panorama”

This event takes place at the same time as Hue hosts the National Tourism Year, combined with Hue Festival 2025, celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hue City Liberation Day (March 26, 1975 - March 26, 2025) and welcoming Hue to become a centrally-governed city.

Attending the event were former Politburo member, Head of the Central Committee for Ideology and Culture Nguyen Khoa Diem; Vice President of the UNESCO World Commission for Asia and the Pacific Ms. Vu Thi Minh Huong; Mr. Franck Bolgiani, Cultural Attaché of the French Embassy, ​​Director of the French Institute in Hanoi and Deputy Director of the French Institute in Vietnam; Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum Nguyen Anh Minh; representatives of leaders of departments and branches; Hue researchers and a large number of domestic and international public and tourists.

For the first time, 21 precious paintings of King Ham Nghi, gathered from 10 private collections, are officially displayed, welcoming art lovers from all over the country. And this is also the first art exhibition at the splendid palace of Hue Imperial Palace - Kien Trung.

Listen to an introduction to the paintings at the exhibition

In the heart of the ancient capital, the exhibition “Sky, Mountains, Water | Allusive Panorama” not only opens the door to the public to the exiled emperor’s painting heritage, but is also a dialogue between the past and the present, where colors and lines revive an artist’s soul amidst the flow of history.

Taking the pen name Tu Xuan - “Son of Spring,” King Ham Nghi has confided in his art his nostalgia for his homeland and his desire to transcend time. Over the past 15 years, King Ham Nghi’s paintings have appeared on the French art market, mainly from private collections, descendants of friends to whom he had given paintings. It was from here that Vietnamese collectors began to discover and bring his paintings back.

The work "Cattle on the Grassland" by King Ham Nghi - around 1910 belongs to the VILAF Collection

The exhibition “Sky, Mountain, Water” is the result of a journey of more than a year of tirelessly tracing the traces of time, searching, confirming, appraising, and strictly restoring according to international standards by curator Ace Le and Lan Tinh Foundation, in collaboration with Dr. Amandine Dabat - 5th generation descendant of King Ham Nghi, and many leading domestic and foreign art units and partners.

Curator and art researcher Ace Le, Editor-in-Chief of Art Republik, said: Ham Nghi's paintings are a unique combination of artistic talent and love for his country, where he expressed his nostalgia for his homeland and also contained a hidden resistance to the oppression during his exile. Through the exhibition, we have the opportunity to admire the artistic language of an emperor who, even in exile, knew how to revive the memories and culture of his homeland.

The exhibition will be open for two weeks, from March 25 to April 6.

News and photos: LIEN MINH

Source: https://huengaynay.vn/van-hoa-nghe-thuat/thong-tin-van-hoa/21-tac-pham-hoi-hoa-cua-vua-ham-nghi-ra-mat-cong-chung-151913.html