The "lifeblood" continues to flow...

Việt Nam•24/12/2023

08:42, 24/12/2023

Listening , observing, appreciating, and sharing the "life force" around us to evoke genuine and intense emotions in the face of the multifaceted realities of life and the universe is the message that four artists from the Central Highlands and Khanh Hoa province want to convey to viewers through the art exhibition titled "Abundant Life Force" at Hong Hac WS. Point Art Space ( Ho Chi Minh City), held from November 14, 2023 to January 14, 2024.

Four artists, including Le Van, Truong Van Linh ( Dak Lak ), Ho Thi Xuan Thu (Gia Lai), and Bui Van Quang (Khanh Hoa), presented 20 paintings at the exhibition, each with a different artistic style and medium. However, they all share a common thread: a love for nature, depicted and encapsulated in their ideas and feelings about the "flow" of nature, of all things tangible and intangible, emanating from their memories. Each color and brushstroke in their works reflects the artists' attitudes and responsibilities regarding what is being lost and what remains on the land they live on, aiming to provide viewers with a multifaceted experience.

The group of artists who created the exhibition. Photo: Provided by the exhibition organizers.

Artist Le Van's paintings, such as "Sunlight on the Mountain Pass" and "When the Forest Was Still Green," evoke a sense of separation in the viewer – the present moment is both real and unreal, due to the hazy, fragile, and seemingly fragile colors of the forests and sunlight, subtly conveyed through watercolor on silk. The ever-changing colors of nature and life inspire Le Van to capture them in each work with optimism, faith, and a touch of bewilderment: Across the mountains, hills, villages, and towns… the original pristine and unspoiled beauty is gradually being lost. Some beautiful and heartwarming landscapes have departed, even the colors of rain and sunlight have changed so drastically.

Artist Truong Van Linh chose the path of creating black and white woodblock prints to convey to viewers the intense emotions and vibrancy of the daily life and activities of various ethnic groups in the region where he lived. "March in the Central Highlands," "Tay Village in the Central Highlands," and "Beside Dray Sap" are vibrant images, depicted by Truong Van Linh on wood using the black and white technique, giving viewers a very real feeling about the motifs of communal houses, elephants, gongs, waterfalls, stone fences, etc., which are incredibly familiar and lively. To convey this message to the public, artist Truong Van Linh depicted all these images in a space with interwoven light and shadow, so that although they are black and white prints, they give viewers a very bright sense of light.

Exhibition Poster.

Meanwhile, female artist Ho Thi Xuan Thu chose lacquer painting to whisper and confide in herself and others. "Under the Kơ Nia Tree" or "Returning to My Homeland" are places where she realized her own insignificance before the vastness of nature. Therefore, in most of her works, the canopies/branches of trees envelop people, a desire for refuge within them. Artist Xuan Thu skillfully utilizes the supportive qualities of lacquer – the crimson red hues combined with the matte gold and white eggshell (without any polishing) – to intentionally create a rough, powerful, and majestic feel, like the land she lives in. This evokes in the viewer a vibrant yet harmonious, yearning yet tender spirit, reminiscent of the Central Highlands.

For artist Bui Van Quang, people in their simple lives or childhood memories are always an endless source of inspiration. In his works, "Two Friends" and "The Fairy Swing" are memories recreated from the past, yet still joyful and peaceful for those living in the present. And that is also the lifeblood flowing through the past, present, and future – thus, the artist's emotionally charged oil paintings touch the hearts of viewers and revive in each person's soul beliefs and memories that had gradually faded.

Dinh Doi

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