Breathe life into paintings and statues

Creation of woodcut paintings

Among the artists pursuing fine arts in An Giang, the number of female participants is very small. Ms. Phan My Xuyen, residing in Dong Hung commune, is one of the female artists who has created many fine arts works with wood carvings. With her talented hands, she has breathed life into dozens of wood carvings, leaving special impressions on the public who love colorful art. Over many years of composing, Ms. Xuyen has had many works selected for exhibitions and won awards in the province and region. Most recently, with the wood carving "After a hard day", she won an encouragement prize in the literary and artistic composition contest praising the land and people of Kien Giang , with the theme "Pride of Kien Giang land and sea".

Ms. Phan My Xuyen looks at the exhibition photos at the conference summarizing 50 years of literature and art in Kien Giang province. Photo: TIEU DIEN

Ms. Xuyen confided: “My affinity with fine arts started when I met my husband. Being in regular contact and seeing the works created by my husband, my passion for fine arts permeated me without me realizing it.” After graduating from high school, Ms. Xuyen studied art pedagogy to have the opportunity to learn and explore more about fine arts. Currently, Ms. Xuyen is an art teacher at Dong Hung A1 Primary School, Dong Hung Commune. When they got married, Ms. Xuyen and her husband fueled each other’s passion, giving them more motivation to create many works together. Currently, Ms. Xuyen and her husband are members of the Fine Arts Association, Kien Giang Literature and Arts Association.

Born and raised in Mien Thu, Ms. Xuyen is proud of her hometown, loves the landscape and people here. The image of Ms. Xuyen's hometown is sometimes brilliant in oil paintings, sometimes quiet in wood carvings. Through Ms. Xuyen's talented hands, through lines, shapes, and graceful, lively patterns on lifeless, dry wood, they appear one after another to create vivid wood carvings. Ms. Xuyen's wood carvings are loved by the public because they are rich in rustic and familiar imagery, imbued with the Mien Thu countryside, and depict the daily life of the people here.

For Ms. Xuyen, a meaningful work must bring the breath of life and conquer the public with the simplest things. Happiness for her is not the work she creates that wins an award, but the greatest happiness is when she finishes a work she created with her own hands, looks at it, keeps it and shares it for everyone to see. Ms. Xuyen shared: “To create a woodcut painting, it must go through many stages, takes a lot of time, many works take more than a month to complete. From the stage of coming up with ideas, sketching on paper, pasting on wood, carving wood, printing on do paper... Requires the maker to be meticulous, skillful, meticulous, patient and creative. The maker must put his heart into the work, only then can he create meaningful works. Only those who are truly passionate can stick with this art form.”

Inspired by the sea and islands

Mr. Le Xuan Cang, residing in Rach Gia ward, is also one of the faces that impress the public with his creative works of art. Since childhood, Mr. Cang has shown his artistic talent, loves to learn and explore. His strong passion for sculpture has always motivated him to explore and learn from teachers and friends, as well as explore on his own through books, newspapers and the internet. In 2008, he was admitted as a member of the Fine Arts Association, Kien Giang Literature and Arts Association, where he had the opportunity to learn more about fine arts from his seniors.

Mr. Le Xuan Cang and his work “Silence” won first prize in the literary and artistic composition contest praising the land and people of Kien Giang, with the theme “Pride of Kien Giang land and sea”, fine arts category. Photo: TIEU DIEN

I met Mr. Cang when he was introducing his work “Silence” at the conference summarizing 50 years of literature and art in Kien Giang province. This work won first prize in the literary and artistic composition contest praising the land and people of Kien Giang with the theme “Pride of Kien Giang land and sea”, fine art category. The work was made from iron and wood with unique shapes, attracting many guests and artists to see.

Although he has not attended any school, Mr. Cang has created many unique works of art over the years. Materials that seem inanimate, such as copper, iron, stone, wood, plastic, clay and synthetic materials, are transformed by Mr. Cang's skillful hands into lively, soulful works of art with high artistic value and meaning. Mr. Cang is considered by many to have an artistic mindset, creative composition, and many works have depth with unique lines and rich shapes.

Being attached to the sea of Rach Gia, Mr. Cang always carries in his heart a passionate love and pride for his homeland's land and sea, the impression of the sea seems to be overflowing in his works. One of the topics that Mr. Cang is passionate about is the sea, islands, cultural beauty, land and people of Kien Giang. Over the years of composing, he has created many unique works of art, bearing his personal mark, impressing the art-loving public. In 2023, he won second prize at the Kien Giang fine arts competition with the work "Fish"; in 2024, he was honored to receive the C prize at the fine arts exhibition of the Mekong Delta region with the work "Clinging to the sea".

Talking about art, Mr. Cang shared: “Although I don’t have the opportunity to study in depth, I always try to learn and practice every day. I hope to be able to create many meaningful works of art to serve the public and satisfy my passion...”.

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Source: https://baoangiang.com.vn/thoi-hon-vao-tranh-vao-tuong-a460795.html