The 29th Red River Delta Fine Arts Exhibition

As scheduled, August - the Red River Delta Fine Arts Exhibition (abbreviated as the exhibition) is held, a meeting place for artists who love their profession and art lovers of 9 provinces of the Red River Delta. The results of a year of artistic creation are displayed with the hopes and joys of contributing to the development of fine arts in the region in particular and the whole country in general of the artists, making the exhibition a memorable meeting place.

Among the 151 works by 144 authors introduced at the 29th exhibition - Hai Phong 2024, the Ha Nam Literature and Arts Association contributed 13 works by 12 authors from the Fine Arts Association, including 6 authors who are members of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association. Although there was no innovation, the Ha Nam authors were on the one hand loyal to their "creative taste" and on the other hand tried to express their new perspective on life through their works. Therefore, the space for displaying Ha Nam's fine arts works at the exhibition showed its own unique features.

The highest prize-winning work of Ha Nam at the exhibition was the oil painting “Road to the Campaign” by Do Kich, measuring 190x190cm. The C prize for this work was highly appreciated by artists visiting the exhibition because it was a “rare” work on the theme of revolutionary war; it was the work of an author with a long history of achievements on that theme with constant efforts, despite his old age and poor health.

Artist Do Kich shared: “I am a soldier myself, who has lived and had practical experiences on the battlefield. This painting depicts a detail of the great Dien Bien Phu campaign - the moment when the frontline laborers sat and rested next to the legendary carts”. He used a warm color scheme that harmoniously blended orange and yellow to depict that special scene, bringing an optimistic, confident, and enthusiastic feeling to the people participating in the campaign. It is easy to understand that 2024 is exactly 70 years since the Dien Bien Phu victory that resounded throughout the world, shaking the world, an event solemnly celebrated by the Party and the State, and is the pride of millions of Vietnamese hearts. The image of troops entering the front line, following the call of the country, has left a special mark on the history of the Vietnamese people's fight against foreign invaders, including the frontline laborers. With the spirit of a soldier, artist Do Kich chose this subject and had no difficulty in successfully expressing it with his rich emotions and creativity.

The work "Road to the Campaign" won the C prize by artist Do Kich.

Also using oil paint, artist Do Thang, son of artist Do Kich, has a work with a meaningful message about the working life of the people in the highlands. "Morning in the highlands" - the name of the work, has a large size of 100x120cm, with a way of expressing both realism and abstraction with dark colors creating a quiet and peaceful highland scene. According to artist Do Thang, the life of the people in the highlands with daily repetitions of many activities seems monotonous, but there is a strong connection between individuals in that community, full of identity. That connection creates the strength for the people in the highlands to overcome the difficulties of life, protecting the borders of the Fatherland. The two large oil paintings above with different styles of expression create a truly majestic art space for Ha Nam at the exhibition.

At the exhibition, the most obvious feature of Ha Nam fine arts is the traditional wood carvings by Nguyen Ngan and Tran Phong. The exhibition has a total of 7 wood carvings and 2 lacquer carvings, of which Ha Nam has 3 wood carvings and 1 lacquer carving. No one finds this strange, because in all previous regional exhibitions, Ha Nam's wood carvings have truly created identity and uniqueness.

Artist Nguyen Ngan is the only artist from Ha Nam with 2 works exhibited, both woodcuts. “Arrived at the Wharf” won the Encouragement Prize, giving viewers a special feeling about the life of fishermen in coastal areas. The work is imposing with a tight composition and light and dark color blocks blending with the movement of lines and shapes, creating a strong rhythm of life for coastal residents in the painting. The large boat, with its high and wide net, overwhelms the small bodies of people, showing the ability of people to master all things, before the storms of life. All the fishermen present at the fishing port are leisurely and at ease, not in a hurry, chasing the big waves and strong winds of the vast ocean...

Besides “Arrive”, artist Nguyen Ngan also attracted the attention of viewers with the work “Making a living”. The working space of a seller of fishing nets (a fishing tool made of bamboo used to catch fish) on an old bicycle is a long, windy road. The driver is hidden among the nets stacked on top of each other, hunched over cycling in the rain, showing the hardships of rural people. With a simple composition and natural black and white color scheme, this woodcut by Nguyen Ngan, although not awarded at the exhibition, still leaves in the viewer’s mind a feeling reminiscent of the difficult past for those who were born and raised in the countryside.

In the painting “Dawn”, Tran Phong’s lacquer carving is also really impressive when the author depicts a moment in the morning when the sun begins to rise. The flower trellis welcomes the first rays of sunlight with a fresh look, conveying the message of a new beginning through the use of color and a rather sharp composition. Tran Phong chose a top-down perspective so that the diagonal sunbeams bring a sense of movement, different rhythms, creating liveliness and certainty for the composition.

Two young artists from the provincial Cultural and Artistic Center, Pham Van Hoa and My Dung, brought to the exhibition two beautiful and simple ceramic works, containing the national spirit and the rich cultural identity of their homeland. Both works of the two artists recreated popular folk games of rural children in the past in a pure and emotional way. The work “Green Day” by My Dung recreated the horse jumping game.

My Dung shared: “This game is now in the memories of many people, and it is the “green day in every person. My wish in the work is to give children today a space to play, exercise comfortably, beneficially, with lots of creativity to practice health and dexterity through folk games like before”.

As for Pham Van Hoa, the work “Tuoi Tho V” describes the game of blind man’s buff played by rural children. Sticking to this theme for many years, Hoa has released works from Tuoi Tho I to IV, all of which have won awards. At this exhibition, “Tuoi Tho V” was introduced by the Art Council to compete in the 2024 National Committee Award of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations, because Hoa is only a member of the local Literature and Arts Association, not yet a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, so it has not been officially judged.

Each work of Ha Nam brought to the exhibition conveys a message from life with its own feelings and creativity, contributing to creating a common voice for love of life, love of people, labor and fighting, love of country and national pride... In the 14 official awards (including 2 B prizes, 2 C prizes, 10 Encouragement prizes) awarded by the Arts Council, Ha Nam has 2 works: one C prize and one Encouragement prize. For many years, the exhibition has not had an A prize, this year is the same.

Jiangnan

Source: https://baohanam.com.vn/van-hoa/van-hoc-nghe-thuat/trien-lam-my-thuat-khu-vuc-dong-bang-song-hong-lan-thu-29-diem-hoi-tu-tinh-hoa-nghe-thuat-131898.html