Painting exhibition "Five shapes 2" with diverse shapes in folk culture

On the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the success of the August Revolution (August 19, 1945 - August 19, 2025), the Center for Cultural and Scientific Activities of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam in collaboration with the artist group "Ngu Hinh" organized the exhibition "Ngu Hinh 2" at the special national relic of the Temple of Literature - Quoc Tu Giam.

In traditional Vietnamese culture, if colors have Five Colors, Sounds have Five Palaces, Cuisine has Five Flavors, directions have Five Directions, then shaping in fine arts also has Five Shapes.

The "Five Shapes" exhibition refers to five typical shapes corresponding to each element: Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, Earth. Each shape has its own characteristics and meanings. Metal: Round, representing fullness and balance; Water: Wavy, curved, representing flow and change; Wood: Rectangular, long, representing development and progress; Fire: Triangle, representing dynamism and enthusiasm; Earth: Square, representing stability and sustainability.

Sharing about the message that the exhibition "Ngu Hinh 2" wants to convey, artist Truong Thinh said: "The word Ngu is translated from Sino-Vietnamese, meaning 5 brothers with different styles of creation, each with their own perspective and thinking about creation, as well as stories in life. Some people paint about folk traditions, some ancient stories, about ancient heritage, some paint about contemporary art, what is actually happening".

With 25 works by artists: Bui Hai Nam, Truong Thinh, Nguyen Duc Phuong, Pham Duy Quynh, and architect Tran Minh Tuan, the themes of emotions towards nature, culture and Vietnamese people are expressed truthfully and simply.

For architect Tran Minh Tuan, the author's inspiration comes from his love for Hanoi : "As an architect myself, I have a great love for nature and culture everywhere. I live and work in Hanoi, so Hanoi is my great inspiration. These are the moments that I find very meaningful and lovely in Hanoi and are not in any museum, but right in our lives. That is O Quan Chuong, the Red River bank, the early mornings sitting and drinking tea together or traditional festivals".

Impressed by the unique way of creating shapes on folk materials of some works, Ms. Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang, Dong Anh commune, Hanoi said: “I am very impressed with artist Duc Phuong, the work Ancient people and students, simple but very meaningful. Each painting carries a message. For example, this one. has a bamboo tree and a student walking towards the top and has a flag, like they will win. The bamboo tree looks very shaky and can fall down, like they can be discouraged at any time but just need to go a little further to reach the destination. To achieve success, one must go through a long journey”.