Explore “Movement and Stillness” through 60 large-scale abstract paintings

If Tran Hai Minh paints like pouring fire on the canvas, Tran Luu My paints with a meditative stillness. Two emotional states, two tones, two core approaches of contemporary Vietnamese painting will meet in a joint exhibition “Movement and Stillness”.

Two prominent artists of Vietnamese contemporary art, Tran Hai Minh and Tran Luu My, will co-organize a special exhibition titled "Movement and Stillness" at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum, from July 3 to 13. The exhibition features 60 large-scale abstract works, with two contrasting expressions.

Artist Tran Hai Minh with his work. Photo: NVCC

Artist Tran Hai Minh, born in 1962, studied at the Vietnam University of Fine Arts and studied for 7 years at the Berlin Academy of Arts (Germany). He is one of the early followers of abstract expressionism, with a strong brushstroke, fiery colors and pent-up energy released on canvas with long, decisive brush strokes. His paintings give the feeling of a storm of emotions materialized into form.

In contrast, there is a quietness in the paintings of Tran Luu My, a painter who graduated from the Hanoi University of Theatre and Cinema. As the eldest son of the late painter Tran Luu Hau, he inherited his painting ability from his famous father. However, with the desire to step out of his father's shadow, Tran Luu My struggled a lot to find his own path. He came to the spirit of Buddhism and put that spirit into his paintings. His works restrain colors, focus on space and meditation, like gentle music inviting viewers to stop and contemplate.

Artist Tran Luu My (left) with his work. Photo: NVCC

The works at the exhibition are mostly large-sized paintings. Some are 2.4 x 2.4m; 2.4 x 1.8m; most are 1.6 x 1.7m; a few are 80 x 80cm.

One paints with force – the violence of the brush. The other paints with lack – the stillness of restraint. But both converge at the same point: Delving into the unconscious, awakening the most primitive energy of contemporary abstract painting. They do not depict the outside world realistically, but open up the inside world – deep, multi-layered and inviting.

Therefore, Tran Hai Minh’s “Dynamic” and Tran Luu My’s “Static” are not only two visual opposites, but also two states of artistic existence: One explosive – one silent. The two methods seem to be opposites but are actually the unity of the two poles of yin and yang, creating an internal balance for this exhibition “Dynamic and Static”.

Art critic Tran Huy Man commented that the exhibition is not only a highlight in the contemporary art life of Vietnam, but also a milestone affirming that Vietnamese abstract paintings have an independent, profound and powerful language. This is a rare opportunity for art lovers, collectors, galleries and the public to approach two different voices but both strong and rich in identity.

Source: https://hanoimoi.vn/kham-pha-dong-va-tinh-qua-60-tranh-truu-tuong-kho-lon-707307.html