Diversity in creativity and expression
The "2026 Fine Arts Exhibition and Awards - City Sculpture in 5 Years," organized by the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association in collaboration with the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, is a regular event held every five years since 2001. This year's event brings together 76 works by 59 artists, offering a relatively comprehensive picture of contemporary sculpture in Ho Chi Minh City.
The exhibition space showcases a diverse range of forms, from sculptures and reliefs to spatial arrangements. Traditional materials such as stone, wood, and bronze continue to be explored alongside experiments with composite materials and industrial metals like iron, stainless steel, and aluminum. This reflects a trend towards expanding the scope of creative expression, where artists are not limited to sculptural techniques but also pay attention to the spatial structure and interaction of the artwork.
Sculptor Bui Hai Son, a member of the Art Council (Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association), commented: This year's exhibition features the participation of many artists from outside Ho Chi Minh City and young talents, showing a positive sign of the ongoing process of artistic succession. The artists have mastered the materials, explored contemporary forms, and focused on the durability and long-term longevity of their works.
The judging results somewhat reflect the overall standard of the exhibition. The absence of a first prize, and the two second prizes awarded to Nguyen Kien Thuc's "The Man with Many Faces" (mixed media) and Le Ngoc Thai's "Nursery" (welded iron), indicate that no truly outstanding works have emerged, failing to create a clear breakthrough in terms of visual language, materials, or spatial organization. Nevertheless, overall, sculpture in Ho Chi Minh City has maintained a stable creative momentum. Many works demonstrate the artists' sensitivity to social life, boldly raising new issues, from urbanization and the environment to personal reflections in a modern context.
Waiting for the impetus from the next generation.
Sculptor Huu Qui observes that young artists bring a new lease of life with their open-minded thinking and willingness to choose topical themes. Their skills in handling materials, especially metal, have made significant progress, with many works achieving a high level of perfection, from bronze casting to stainless steel and aluminum fabrication.
A notable aspect of this exhibition is the increasing presence of young artists. According to sculptor Nguyen Kien Thuc, the number of people practicing sculpture, especially students, is increasing; many young artists are willing to invest in large-scale works and experiment with new materials. However, innovation in content is not yet truly evident, with most creations still stemming from personal passion rather than market orientation.
However, the generational transition in sculpture in Ho Chi Minh City has not yet clearly taken place. This is also characteristic of an art form that requires a long period of accumulation, both in terms of skill and creative thinking. According to artists, to form a sufficiently capable successor generation, at least a decade of continuous development is needed. A noteworthy issue is the limited participation of graduation works from sculpture students. This partly reflects the gap between training and professional practice, and highlights the need to strengthen connections between schools, professional associations, and exhibition spaces. In this context, the role of regular exhibitions and awards becomes even more important. These are not only places to summarize the creative journey but also forums to discover, nurture, and create opportunities for young talents to assert themselves.
It could be said that sculpture in Ho Chi Minh City is currently in a necessary "calm": there is no shortage of exploration, no shortage of innovative efforts, but it is still waiting for a strong enough impetus to create a turning point. Once the technical and material foundations have been consolidated, what remains is a breakthrough in ideas and the emergence of individuals capable of shaping a new face for urban sculpture. Maintaining the current creative momentum while patiently nurturing the next generation is the way for Ho Chi Minh City's sculpture to accumulate internal strength and move towards more profound transformations in the near future.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/dieu-khac-tphcm-giu-mach-sang-tao-cho-dot-pha-post851378.html
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