On the morning of August 24, 2023, Việt Nam Museum of Fine Arts opened the thematic exhibition My Country on the occasion of the 78th Anniversary for National Day of Việt Nam Socialist Republic (September 2, 1945 – September 2, 2023).
The country is a sacred calling and an endless source of inspiration for generations of artists. Image of our country naturally enters poetry, cinema, literature, music, and painting because it is already in the mind. In particular, generations of artists have recreated the extremely beautiful image of the country in many works on this subject with all the love and national pride.
The exhibition My Country is a diverse collection of style, visual language, and materials through each work. More than 80 works are selected from Modern Fine Arts Collection of Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum, spanning many periods, before 1945 to 2007. The works were created with a variety of materials such as: oil, lacquer, silk, gouache, wood engraving, watercolor… by typical artists in modern Vietnamese art; from the Indochina period such as: Trần Văn Cẩn, Lương Xuân Nhị, Nguyễn Văn Tỵ, Trần Đình Thọ, Huỳnh Văn Thuận, Bùi Xuân Phái, Phan Kế An… to the Resistance class such as: Lưu Công Nhân, Đào Đức… and the following generations of artists such as: Đường Ngọc Cảnh, Trần Thanh Ngọc, Nguyễn Thanh Châu.
Each work represents a perspective of the artist to highlight the unique and colorful beauty of regions along the length of our country from the Northwest to Ba Vì, Hạ Long bay, Hà Nội, Huế, Central Highlands, to the Western river region… They not only depict the beauty of majestic and poetic nature but also praise the beauty of labor, people, and customs of Vietnamese people.
In particular, we must mention the famous lacquer work Remembering an afternoon in Northwest by artist Phan Kế An, created in 1955. After being displayed, the painting received a positive reception. Although there are some opinions that the green color resembles the green of oil. But most people think that it is the new green color in An afternoon in Northwest that makes the palette of lacquer fresher, depicting the true spirit of “the majesty of the great nature in the Northwest.” Combined with the light from gold, the painting becomes deep and green with a special visual impression.
Phan Kế An. Remembering an afternoon in Northwest. 1955. Lacquer.
Or the work Morning on Hương river by artist Lương Xuân Nhị, created in 1980, Lương Xuân Nhị’s unique green palette mixed with a bit of yellow seems to make the painting bright, from the water surface to the trees. He tapped with bright yellow patches that make viewers feel the gentle, harmonious, clear sunlight of every early morning. The image of Hương river and the daily life of Huế people become gentler, softer, and more poetic in Lương Xuân Nhị’s painting.
Lương Xuân Nhị (1914-2006). Morning on Hương river. 1980. Oil. 72,5×91,5 cm
The painting Gia Ngư street by artist Bùi Xuân Phái was created in 1980. This is one of the works from Hà Nội Old Quarter series with a clear change in color of Bùi Xuân Phái painting. It was a bright period with clear blue colors, completely different from the ‘Brown street’ period of the 50s, or the period of sketching and drawing in black and white with graphite in the 60s and 70s. Understanding the life of Bùi Xuân Phái, we can immediately see that in the 80s, his paintings began to be loved by the public. That is the source of motivation, creating joy and openness in the artist’s emotions, so the colour on his paintings is much more cheerful. Inherently, what an artist shows on the surface of the painting is also a self-portrait of his inner self.
Bùi Xuân Phái (1920 – 1988). Gia Ngư street. 1980. Oil. 50,5×70,5 cm
With modern painting techniques and oil medium, in the painting Gia Ngư street Bùi Xuân Phái portrayed the image of a familiar and rustic corner of old Hà Nội with ancient architecture, intact old houses and people of traditional daily life. The peaceful memories of an old, dreamy Hà Nội in the 80s appear vividly to our eyes when looking at his painting.
With artist Nguyễn Văn Tỵ’s watercolour painting, Bản Giốc waterfall, under the hands of a master possessing basic classical techniques, the majestic natural landscape of the Northeast mountains and forests is condensed into a small, beautiful but emotional sketch. Unlike large-sized works created by the artist in the workshop, sketches are the artist’s intuitive vision to record nature, landscapes and people through the natural, honest emotions of the moment.
In Bản Giốc waterfall, the layers of the landscape and people seem to give the painting more depth, creating an eye-catching effect on the viewer’s eyes. In the midst of vast nature, people suddenly become small. Nguyễn Văn Tỵ’s characteristic blue color is a prominent feature in the work.
Nguyễn Văn Tỵ (1917-1992). Bản Giốc waterfall. Watercolour. 36×49 cm
About the lacquer painting Dawn in the mountains and forests of Central Highlands created in 1975 – the theme of revolutionary history by artist Xu Man, a son of the Ba Na ethnic group in the Central Highlands, he is imbued with the ideology and policies of the Party, so most of his works focus on revolutionary themes, life and people in the highlands.
The entire painting has a warm red-brown colour scheme dotted with splendid physical gold, highlighting the cheerful, joyful and excited atmosphere of all people in the Central Highlands on the day Liberation of the South that unified the country. In the work, image of President Hồ Chí Minh is placed in a high position to show the respect of the artist as well as the entire people of Central Highlands for Him. The dawn in the mountains and forests of Central Highlands is also the dawn of revolution, for a bright new beginning of Vietnamese people.
Xu Man (1925-2007). Dawn in the mountains and forests of Central Highlands. 1975. Lacquer. 98,5×122,5 cm
With all the love for homeland and national pride subtly conveyed through each work, the exhibition brings many deep emotions to viewers, evoking love for homeland, country, and people of Việt Nam. Looking at the paintings, we see a very beautiful and proud Việt Nam. The exhibition My country is also an opportunity to promote the image of our culture, people, our country to international friends.
In particular, this is also the first exhibition of Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum to use two forms at the same time: Displaying original works combining digital projection with motion graphics technology.
The gallery combines digital presentation with Cinemagraph motion graphics technology
Recently, art lovers around the world have also had access to Cinemagraph panoramic digital technology in series of Vincent van Gogh exhibitions in Europe, America and Asia. This is a technology that applies 360-degree digital projections to help paintings come alive, covering the entire space, stretching from wide floors to high ceilings and large walls, bringing visitors to a different world through a vivid combination of dozens of colorful projections along with background sounds. Entering each exhibition area, visitors will be immersed in more than 300 manuscripts, sketches and paintings by Vincent van Gogh.
This is also a novelty when applying technology to works of art to bring a new type of gallery, bringing new experiences, serving the entertainment of viewers. However, in some ways, displaying an exhibition of artworks real in physic will help viewers interact, see the artwork directly and understand it better.
Cinemagraph technology applied in the exhibition My country is also a change, creating a new premise to keep up with the trends of the times, bringing new and more interesting experiences, viewers can approach art in a new and memorable way.
The exhibition is open from August 24 to September 10 at Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum (No. 66 Nguyễn Thái Học, Hà Nội).
Some images of artworks in the exhibition:
Trần Văn Cẩn (1910-1994). Boats on Thương river. 1954. Crayon. 34,5×52,5 cm
Trần Đình Thọ (1919-2011). Going down to the market. 2005. Lacquer. 61×91 cm
Mai Văn Hiến (1923-2006). An area of Pác Bó. 1986. 80,5×120 cm
Trần Thế Giới (1933-2004). Botanical garden. 1970. Oil. 73×92 cm
Written by Viet Art View
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