Farewell to the talented and loyal Le Thiet Cuong

Painter Le Thiet Cuong recently passed away due to a serious illness in Hanoi, leaving behind deep grief for his relatives and many friends in the art and literary world.

Artist Le Thiet Cuong at the launch of the Ksitigarbha Sutra, which he designed and printed beautifully in 2024 while undergoing medical treatment - Photo: T. DIEU

Family members have announced that artist Le Thiet Cuong passed away at 6:55 PM tonight, July 17th, after a long battle with cancer. This sad news came as a shock to many, especially since in May he had a lively conversation and interaction with the public at the launch of his new book, " Conversations with Painting."

Just a few days ago, friends still saw him posting pictures of his sculptures along with a quote from Zen master Từ Đạo Hạnh. The post also partly reveals the "code" that Lê Thiết Cương has etched into the public's heart through his arguably brilliant life: minimalist painting and Buddhism.

Le Thiet Cuong was one of the few artists who had a special interest in Buddhism, not only in his later years when he suffered from a serious illness, but as a lifelong concern.

Le Thiet Cuong at the launch of his book "Conversations with Painting" in May - Photo: T. DIEU

Le Thiet Cuong and his connection with minimalist painting.

Born in Hanoi in 1962, Le Thiet Cuong studied painting from a young age but later joined the military. After leaving the military, from 1985, he studied art design at the Hanoi University of Theatre and Film.

Graduating in 1990, right during the period when Vietnamese painting was flourishing after the Doi Moi (Renovation) period, along with a generation of innovative and fresh artists, Le Thiet Cuong quickly found his own path and achieved fame with it: minimalist painting.

And the path that led Le Thiet Cuong to minimalist painting was "prepared" from the very beginning. It started from his grandfather's bookshelf, a bookshelf full of books on Buddhism and Buddhist scriptures. After 1975, that bookshelf was further supplemented with many books by Zhuangzi, Laozi, and Confucius from his father's trips to the South - the poet Le Nguyen.

During his lifetime, artist Le Thiet Cuong recounted that, in his late teens and early twenties, he devoured his family's entire bookshelf filled with Buddhist and Eastern philosophy books. The minimalist aesthetics of Zen and East Asian thought naturally seeped into Le Thiet Cuong. From this love of minimalism, other fortunate circumstances led to the development of minimalist painting within him. This included a close relationship with his teacher – the poet Dang Dinh Hung.

Nguyen Huy Thiep and Le Thiet Cuong at the artist's home in 2017 - Family photo.

In 1984, after leaving the military and before attending university, Lê Thiết Cương, having plenty of free time, would occasionally visit his neighbor, the poet Đặng Đình Hưng, to serve drinks and entertain talented writers of the time such as Trần Dần, Lê Đạt, Hoàng Cầm, Dương Bích Liên, Trần Lưu Hậu, Phan Đan, Thụy Kha, and others.

Le Thiet Cuong learned a great deal at that "school." And it was Dang Dinh Hung who discovered Le Thiet Cuong's minimalist potential, encouraging him to follow that path. Le Thiet Cuong "fell into minimalism" thanks to the push of his great mentor and achieved success with his own unique approach.

Tet in the old days, illustrated by Le Thiet Cuong in Tuoi Tre newspaper.

Le Thiet Cuong was a generous and kind friend.

Le Thiet Cuong did not stop at his own painting career. He was loved by many not only for his appreciation and respect for talent from his friends, seniors, and juniors in literature and art in general, but also not just limited to painting.

In his role as a curator and art critic, Le Thiet Cuong is very dedicated to organizing exhibitions to introduce and support young artists.

For many years, he gathered artists of various ages, mostly younger than himself, in the G39 group, regularly organizing non-profit exhibitions for the group at the gallery located in his private home on Ly Quoc Su Street.

But there is another Le Thiet Cuong, who diligently and passionately writes books for the artists and writers he respects.

He has compiled two books: one compiling fascinating articles from the entire writing career of director and People's Artist Dao Trong Khanh; and another a photo book featuring photographs of artists from a bygone era, including very valuable images by photographer Ha Tuong.

We encouraged Nguyen Huy Thiep and collaborated with him to create a special anthology of his short stories, featuring the combined talents of contemporary artists who illustrated each short story.

Some of the books Le Thiet Cuong wrote were for his friends and respected artists - Photo: T. DIEU

Le Thiet Cuong also wrote many meaningful books for his talented friends who are great artists, such as: Dang Dinh Hung's collection of poems and paintings, " A Strange Wharf," Hoang Cam's "100 Poems," Le Dat's posthumous work " White Album," and Phan Dan's collection of poems. The literary portrait book by Nguyen Thuy Kha , "We Still Have Friends , " Hai Phong Poetry School ...

The books were all beautifully made, on good quality paper, and not cheap. Despite their value, not many people bought them, so they often ended up losing money.

Knowing it would be a loss, Le Thiet Cuong still went ahead and wrote one book after another. Therefore, Le Thiet Cuong has many friends in the art and literary world. Two of his closest friends, both from the "old town," are the writer Nguyen Viet Ha and the sculptor Dinh Cong Dat. They walked together throughout their lives, facing many hardships but also experiencing much beauty and joy in their professions.

He was so engrossed in writing books for friends that he only became "diligent" enough to write his own books when he learned he had a serious illness. These were, in fact, books to repay his love for Hanoi, for painting, and for the kindnesses he had received in life.

Le Thiet Cuong also had a close friendship with writer Nguyen Huy Thiep and poet Thuy Kha.

He and Nguyen Huy Thiep were not only literary and artistic friends, but they were also closely connected in life. The other was present at every event and achievement in one's personal life.

When Nguyen Huy Thiep was ill, Le Thiet Cuong helped take care of him. When Le Thiet Cuong was sick, Nguyen Huy Thiep's two sons took turns helping with his care in the hospital.

Another remarkable quality of Le Thiet Cuong, rarely found in later generations of artists, is his ability to bring together artists from many generations around him. Since the generation of Van Cao, Hoang Cam, Dang Dinh Hung, Nguyen Tuan, Bui Xuan Phai, Nguyen Sang, and others, artists have had fewer close relationships across different circles than their predecessors.

But Le Thiet Cuong managed to revive part of this "tradition" thanks to the appeal of his talent and his appreciation for talent. Before him, Nguyen Huy Thiep also had a strong appeal to artists and writers of many generations around him.

Le Thiet Cuong, a lifelong referee and talent lover, was in turn respected and loved just as much, and passed away peacefully amidst sweet affection.

Throughout his prolific painting career, Le Thiet Cuong has held 26 solo exhibitions both domestically and internationally since 1991, along with numerous group exhibitions.

His works are in the collections of the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), the Royal Mariemont Museum (Belgium), and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Le Thiet Cuong won two Good Design Awards (Japan) in 2003-2004 and 2005-2006.

Besides wielding a paintbrush, Le Thiet Cuong has also made significant contributions to culture through his in-depth articles on traditional culture and Hanoi culture published in newspapers, magazines, and books.

Some of his published books include: Le Thiet Cuong's *Those Who See* (Youth Publishing House, 2017), *The Place to Go and Come Home * - co-authored with Tran Tien Dung (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House, 2017), *House and People* (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House, 2024), *Conversations with Painting* (Vietnam Writers Association Publishing House, 2025)...

BIRD OF HEAVEN

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vinh-biet-nguoi-tai-hoa-trong-tinh-le-thiet-cuong-20250715225540177.htm