Artist Le Thiet Cuong at the launch of the Ksitigarbha Sutra, which he spent money and effort to design and print beautifully in 2024, while he was undergoing medical treatment - Photo: T.DIEU
According to his family, painter Le Thiet Cuong passed away at 6:55 pm tonight, July 17, after a long battle with cancer. The sad news surprised many people because in May he had a lively conversation and exchange with the public at the launch of his new book , Conversation with Painting.
A few days ago, his friends still saw him posting a picture of his sculpture along with a quote from Zen master Tu Dao Hanh. The post also partly expressed the "code" that Le Thiet Cuong had engraved in the public's heart through his life, which could be said to be brilliant: minimalist painting and Buddhism.
Le Thiet Cuong is one of the few painters who had a special interest in Buddhism, not only in his last years when he suffered from a serious illness, but as a lifelong interest.
Le Thiet Cuong at the launch of his book Talking with Painting in May - Photo: T.DIEU
Le Thiet Cuong and his love affair with minimalist painting
Born in 1962 in Hanoi , Le Thiet Cuong studied painting from a young age but joined the army when he grew up. After leaving the army, from 1985, he studied art design at the Hanoi Academy of Theatre and Cinema.
Graduated in 1990, right at the time when Vietnamese painting was bustling after Doi Moi, along with a new generation of creative artists, Le Thiet Cuong also soon found his own path and became famous with it. That is minimalist painting.
And the path that led Le Thiet Cuong to minimalist painting was "prepared" from the "egg water". It started from his grandfather's bookshelf, a bookshelf full of books about Buddhism and Buddhist scriptures. After 1975, that bookshelf was supplemented with many books by Trang Tu, Lao Tu, and Confucius from his father's business trips to the South - poet Le Nguyen.
During his lifetime, painter Le Thiet Cuong said that at the age of 18, he devoured his family's entire bookshelf full of Buddhist and Eastern philosophy books. And the minimalist aesthetics of Zen and Eastern thought "crept" into Le Thiet Cuong very naturally. From liking minimalism, other good fortunes added to form minimalist paintings in him. That was a close relationship with his teacher - poet Dang Dinh Hung.
Nguyen Huy Thiep and Le Thiet Cuong at the artist's house in 2017 - Family photo
In 1984, after leaving the army and not yet attending university, Le Thiet Cuong occasionally went to his neighbor - poet Dang Dinh Hung, to work as a waiter to entertain talented writers of the time such as Tran Dan, Le Dat, Hoang Cam, Duong Bich Lien, Tran Luu Hau, Phan Dan, Thuy Kha...
Le Thiet Cuong learned a lot at that "school". And it was Dang Dinh Hung who discovered the minimalist quality in Le Thiet Cuong to encourage his younger generation to follow that path. Le Thiet Cuong "fell into minimalism" from the push of his great teacher and became famous with his own path.
Old Tet, illustrated by Le Thiet Cuong on Tuoi Tre
A generous Le Thiet Cuong, loves friends
Le Thiet Cuong did not stop at his own painting career. He was loved by many people because of his respect for talent and the respect of friends, seniors and juniors in literature and art in general, not just limited to painting.
Le Thiet Cuong, as a curator and art critic, is very diligent in organizing exhibitions to introduce and support young artists.
For many years, he gathered artists of many ages, most of whom were younger than him, in the G39 group, regularly organizing non-profit exhibitions for the group at the gallery located in his own home on Ly Quoc Su Street.
But there is another Le Thiet Cuong, diligent and passionate about making books for artists he respects.
He has made two books that collect very interesting articles from the writing life of director and People's Artist Dao Trong Khanh; and a photo book of artists of the past, with very valuable photos by photographer Ha Tuong.
Promote Nguyen Huy Thiep and work with him to create a special collection of Nguyen Huy Thiep's short stories with the joint efforts of contemporary artists to illustrate each short story.
Some books Le Thiet Cuong made for friends and artists he respected - 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 poetry and painting collection A Strange Wharf, Hoang Cam - 100 poems, Le Dat's posthumous collection White Album, Phan Dan's poetry collection, Nguyen Thuy Kha's literary portrait , "We still have friends" , Hai Phong Poetry School ...
The books are all beautifully made, on good paper, and are not cheap. Although the books are valuable, not many people buy them, so they often lose money.
Knowing that he would lose money, Le Thiet Cuong kept working, one book after another. That's why Le Thiet Cuong had many friends in the art and literary world. Two of Le Thiet Cuong's close friends, both from the old town, were writer Nguyen Viet Ha and sculptor Dinh Cong Dat. They went together throughout their lives, working in a profession that was full of hardships but also full of beauty and joy.
He was engrossed in making books for his friends until he learned that he was seriously ill. Only then did he "diligently" make his own books, which were actually books to repay the Hanoi he loved, to painting, and to the favors in life.
Le Thiet Cuong also has close friendship with writer Nguyen Huy Thiep and poet Thuy Kha.
He and Nguyen Huy Thiep were not only literary and artistic friends, they were also closely connected in life. The events or achievements in the personal life of one person, the other was present.
When Nguyen Huy Thiep was weak, Le Thiet Cuong helped take care of him. When Le Thiet Cuong was sick, it was Nguyen Huy Thiep's two sons' turn to help take care of him at the hospital.
There is another special thing about Le Thiet Cuong that is hard to find in later generations of artists, which is the ability to gather artists from many generations around him. After the generation of Van Cao, Hoang Cam, Dang Dinh Hung, Nguyen Tuan, Bui Xuan Phai, Nguyen Sang... artists have less close relationships between different circles like their predecessors.
But Le Thiet Cuong was able to re-establish part of this "tradition" thanks to the attraction of his talent and his appreciation for talent. Before that, Nguyen Huy Thiep was also someone who had an attraction for many generations of artists around him.
Le Thiet Cuong respected and loved talent all his life. In turn, he was respected and loved no less, and passed away in sweet love.
During his vibrant painting career, Le Thiet Cuong has held 26 solo exhibitions at home and abroad since 1991 and many group exhibitions.
His works are in the collections of the Singapore Art Museum (SAM), the Royal de Mariemont Museum (Kingdom of Belgium) and the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.
Le Thiet Cuong won 2 Good Design Awards (Japan) in 2003 - 2004, 2005 - 2006.
In addition to holding a brush and drawing pen, Le Thiet Cuong also contributed a lot to culture through in-depth articles about traditional culture and Hanoi culture in newspapers, magazines, and books.
Some published books: Le Thiet Cuong Thay (Tre Publishing House, 2017), Places to go and return - printed with Tran Tien Dung (Writers Association Publishing House, 2017), House and people (Writers Association Publishing House, 2024), Chatting with paintings (Writers Association Publishing House, 2025)...
Source: https://tuoitre.vn/vinh-biet-nguoi-tai-hoa-trong-tinh-le-thiet-cuong-20250715225540177.htm
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