Watch Bui Chat draw 'Statue'

"With the exhibition Concrete Statue, I do not greedily abstract the world, but simply concretize existing abstractions. Concrete Statue, for me, is a direct concretization, without intermediaries," artist Bui Chat explained the name of his 13th exhibition.

From November 14 to 20 at TAA space (29 Street 103 - TML, Cat Lai Ward, Ho Chi Minh City), painter Bui Chat will meet with art lovers through the exhibition "Sculptures" , introducing 37 oil paintings on canvas created by him in the period 2019 - 2025 with the collaboration of poet Le Van Dong.

Nearly 10 years of hard work with the easel, each new exhibition he brings to the audience is a different type of creativity, and with Cu Tuong - the event marking the mature stage - it seems calmer, after many storms.

The works are not constructed in a programmed thematic order.

Photo: LY DOI

The colors, lines, and shapes seem to be trying to rearrange themselves.

Photo: LY DOI

Painting the Statue , artist Bui Chat finds peace in the tiredness and hustle and bustle

If in poetry, poet Bui Chat used to let go of words to breathe, then in painting, painter Bui Chat seems to swing his brush to live and contribute. The statue is the crystallization of those needs - painting not to illustrate, nor to decorate, but to exist, to find peace in the complexities and chaos.

"Every time I paint, it's like I'm cutting out a piece from the chaos of life. Each separate piece becomes a picture, and then the block inside continues to transform and reproduce. Each work is a temporary stop of the infinite. I never intend to capture it all. Painting is just an act of pausing, of realizing for a moment what cannot be held," Bui Chat confided.

So, come to the exhibition of Statues , the viewer encounters works that are not constructed in order of subject matter. Instead of a main point, we will see patches of color, lines, and shapes appear as if they are trying to arrange themselves. Some paintings lean towards expression – with distorted figures, faces, or bodies. Some are completely abstract – just swirls of color, flashes of light, thick layers overlapping thin layers.

Painter Bui Chat believes that the success of a painting does not lie in its beauty or ugliness, but in its level of honesty.

Photo: NVCC

The space of each work is arranged with enough space for the viewer to face the painting as if facing themselves.

Photo: LY DOI

Without explanation or commentary, Bui Chat wants the audience to come, feel and discover the statue for themselves.

Photo: LY DOI

Whether expressionist or abstract, the overall spirit is faithful to the moment. No painting is altered to “better”. Each work retains its original traces – the shaky hand, the uneven streaks, the undried paint – as evidence of life. The exhibition space is minimally staged, creating the feeling of entering a breathing room.

Painter Bui Chat said: "The success of a painting does not lie in whether it is beautiful or not, but in its level of honesty. A concrete image only needs to confirm the presence of the obscure that has been materialized. It does not hide its origin or disguise itself for ease of understanding. It bears traces of chaos, and thanks to that, it hopes to be accepted."

Painting as an act of life

Standing in front of the works in the exhibition "Sculptures" , viewers can clearly feel the "alive" state of the painting's surface, when the paint layer is not flat but has a thickness and roughness like flesh. The light is not in the composition but spreads from the material, from the way the colors are placed, pushed and pulled. The colors in Bui Chat's paintings are no longer purely decorative or expressive elements, but become tools to "pull the invisible out".

It is easy to see that, despite the abstract spirit, Bui Chat's paintings are not cold or emotionless. On the contrary, in many paintings, those spontaneous lines and blocks evoke a feeling of closeness to the human figure, the body, or psychological movements.

Therefore, with Cu Tuong, Bui Chat not only introduces a new series of works, but also introduces a new way of thinking: painting as an act of life, not a demonstration of technique or concept. And perhaps, in that extreme simplicity, painting helps him find more meaning in his profession," art critic Ly Doi

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/xem-bui-chat-ve-cu-tuong-185251114104517461.htm