Young people revive silk painting

Gentle, soft and feminine are the impressions of the silk paintings of artist Nguyen Thi Hue. There, the depth expressed in each work seems to have no end.

The audience lingers

Experts say that the reason why silk paintings are in decline is that " silk paintings have a short lifespan and are difficult to preserve, so they gradually lose their competitiveness with other types of paintings."

Silk painting exhibitions have been rare in recent times. Silk painters are also becoming fewer and fewer because they cannot make a living from their profession. In this connection, many people are pessimistic about the survival of silk painting.

However, there are still silk paintings that make viewers linger. Having pursued the art of painting for nearly 15 years, silk paintings still "fascinate" painter Nguyen Thi Hue because of their softness, gentleness and sophistication. The painter confided: "As a woman, I think silk painting is the most reasonable choice. I love the softness and gentleness in the way this material is described. This is also a traditional form of Vietnamese painting."

Some silk paintings by artist Trung Dinh

Or the exhibition "Huong" by artist Nguyen Thu Huong is also one of the exhibitions that left many impressions. She used hand-woven silk from Quan Pho village, Duy Tien town, Ha Nam province to create paintings that captivated viewers. Nguyen Thu Huong's silk paintings attract viewers because of their ability to transform into many styles such as cubism and abstraction. The subjects, although repeated, are never the same, often very simple themes such as landscapes, portraits, banyan trees, ferry docks, shepherds, communal houses, etc.

Artist Nguyen Thu Huong's silk paintings show that the material does not "force" inspiration, on the contrary, it shows the viewer the "quality" of the artist. Because silk, like lacquer, requires diligence and time, so the emotions must be thick and strong enough to go through the entire process of creating a work.

Never stop creating

Silk is very familiar to Vietnamese people. But painting silk and living with silk has never been easy. However, things are now showing positive signs when young people with passion are determined to restore silk paintings with significant improvements in terms of technique, process and the aesthetic value of silk paintings.

Vietnamese silk paintings have recently had new authors, new themes, expressions, new materials... at the same time, the awareness of the community and domestic collectors about silk paintings has also changed in a positive direction (solo and group exhibitions, seminars, book launches about silk paintings)...

Artist Nguyen Thi Hue always has innovative, creative ways of combining tradition and modernity, bringing new vitality to silk paintings. Nguyen Thi Hue's silk paintings are always painted on two sides with many layers, using many different materials, creating both depth and durability for the work.

Artist Trung Dinh has also made efforts to organize seminars, exhibitions, and research on silk paintings with the aim of "affirming the brand of Vietnamese silk paintings in the world market". Artist Trung Dinh is passionate: "I want to create a work ecosystem and market for artists pursuing silk paintings througheducation as well as international trade opportunities".

According to experts, silk painting is an art form originating from East Asia in which instead of drawing on paper, artisans will paint colors and patterns on silk fabric. Traditional silk painting has developed strongly in countries with long-standing cultures such as Japan, China and Vietnam. Ancient silk paintings in Vietnam mainly focus on depicting people's lifestyles or portraits.

Insiders say the most outstanding feature of Vietnamese silk painting art is finding a unique color palette for silk, using very little color but still creating a richness of color. The smooth, shiny silk threads are dyed in a delicate color that has both fragrance and color, singing the deep song of the Vietnamese soul.

Although admitting that players turn their backs on silk paintings is not because they are not beautiful, not elegant, not luxurious, but clearly, silk paintings are out of favor because of their old age, the colors are not as fresh and sharp as many other genres of paintings. Therefore, experts believe that "to restore silk paintings, artists need to change from the theme, drawing style to new techniques in order to make a living with the profession and revive the silk painting profession".

Source