This is the third time the Vietnamese-Australian artist has returned to the country to introduce Zen calligraphy and painting, after two exhibitions in 2010 in Ho Chi Minh City and Da Lat.
Talking about his creative path, artist Tram Kim Hoa shared that, for him, Zen painting does not emphasize form: "Zen painting focuses on the idea, form is secondary". Since the 1990s, after a period of studying Zen, he gradually eliminated colors, leaving only ink - water - space. This simplification has become his own style, consistent with the philosophy "form is emptiness, emptiness is form".
Many works use cursive calligraphy, choosing a word or Zen phrase to develop into a new visual composition. “Thư trong hữu tranh” - words become paintings, paintings return to words - is the main spirit of this series of works.
According to art researcher Quach Cuong: "Tram Kim Hoa chose a path of silence, drawing with black ink on white paper in the awareness of each breath, and while everyone was looking for images, he only looked for empty space."
The blank space is not a discarded part but a space for the viewer to step into and contemplate. The ink strokes – sometimes a half circle, sometimes a gentle curve like a mountain roof – open up a “boundless space” where the mind can calm down.
Tram Kim Hoa still uses landscapes, birds, flowers, leaves… but not realistically or personified like before. He “humanizes” – putting into each image human emotions to express the meaning of meditation.
Dr. Mae Anna Pang (Victoria Art Gallery, Australia) commented: "Tram Kim Hoa's work is a journey into spiritual enlightenment, expressing the wisdom, simplicity and humor of Zen Buddhism."
According to many domestic curators and collectors, while HCMC fine arts have developed strongly over the past 15 years, with diverse styles and models, exhibitions that maintain a unique conceptual and visual path such as Zen in life are "still quite rare", so the return of Tram Kim Hoa is "a necessary supplement" for today's fine arts life.
Tram Kim Hoa’s paintings do not aim to affirm or explain, they are like “zen experiences” that he touches and wants to share with the viewer. Sometimes it is “a cloud, a bamboo branch, a small path, a crane”…; sometimes it is “a thought, an old age, an illness, a passion”. The viewer initially has many thoughts, but the more he looks, the more he wants to be quiet, standing before the empty spaces.
Source: https://www.sggp.org.vn/hoi-hoa-va-hanh-trinh-tro-ve-noi-tam-post826106.html
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