From 1952 to 1989, Tran Phuc Duyen had 25 solo exhibitions of his works in various materials. Most of which are in lacquer.
Of those 25 exhibitions, there were only 2 exhibitions in Vietnam. The first exhibition was in 1952 at the Saigon Opera House. The second exhibition was in 1953 in Hanoi. The remaining 23 exhibitions are displayed in France, Switzerland and Spain. By the end of 1954, he and the family of his older brother Tran Phuc Chi and younger brother Tran Phuc Tuong went to France to settle.
Photo of the Lacquer Exhibition at Do Thanh Theater in 1952
Catalogue of the Lacquer painting exhibition in Saigon 1952
The work “Riverbank” was (allegedly) purchased by Mr. Robert Dubois – member of a noble family. The painting was created in 1950 at Tran Phuc Duyen’s studio, 146 Avenue de Grand Buddha (Quan Thanh Street). According to documents, there are three versions of “Riverbank” created in 1950 with different sizes including one panel, three panels and eight panels made in the “uniform classical lacquer” style. Tran Phuc Duyen applied this style in most of his paintings from 1946 to 1954.
The eight-panel painting here is the largest in size, with the most complete detail, typical of the landscape theme that Tran Phuc Duyen made before 1954. In this painting, Tran Phuc Duyen has a view that is both comprehensive and detailed, meticulously covering a large space with layers of landscape, vegetation, architecture, people, animals. The scenery of the north midlands appears vivid, familiar and warm.
TRẦN PHÚC DUYÊN (1923 – 1993). Riverbank. 1950. Lacquer. 80 × 200 cm (8 tấm × 25 cm)
Vietnamese artists often paint landscape of the Northern countryside, midland and mountainous areas such as villages and waterfronts with landmarks like suburbs of Hanoi, Ha Long Bay, Bo Waterfall–Hoa Binh, Thay Pagoda, Mia Pagoda, Tay Phuong Pagoda in Son Tay, the northern midland and mountains – places with poetic, lyrical scenery, typical of Vietnamese landscape.
Before 1950, Tran Phuc Duyen lacquer painting had a traditional style with basic, familiar colours. After that, he researched and experimented using new colours of blue, silver and gray. In the introduction of Tran Phuc Duyen’s first solo exhibition held at the Thanh Do Theater (Grand Theater) in Saigon from January 5 to 15, 1952, it is written:
“Gone are the days when we aspired to lift our paint beyond the old mold of ancient decorative techniques. At that time, about twenty years ago, almost only gold, vermilion, black, a few of those main colours were enough to make valuable items.”
The studio at Quán Thánh where the work “Riverbank” was created.
After going to France, from 1958 to 1968; then Switzerland from 1968 to 1993, when he passed away, 39 years he lived in a foreign country, far from the homeland, not married, working quietly alone, devoting all of his time and his mind for lacquer. The materials for making lacquer colours such as vermilion, black, gold, silver sent by his sister from Vietnam became more and more difficult and almost stopped after 1960 (According to documents of Pham Dat – Quang Vinh). Therefore, he had to research, experiment, and create some available materials to continue with lacquer painting.
Portrait of artist Trần Phúc Duyên (1923 – 1993)
Overcoming all difficulties with materials, he had gone through diverse visual styles from realism to abstraction. Starting from “Uniform Classic Lacquer”, to “Ink Lacquer”, finally “Invisible and Abstract”… with palettes from the traditional of gold, vermilion, black to blue, green. Finally, he created a new colour scheme, enriching the palette of lacquer with gray, yellow, light brown… And his beloved homeland had always been the major subject of his works.
In an interview in 1964, when asked about new and innovative things in lacquer art, he replied:
“I want to elevate the art of lacquer to the same level as oil painting.”
“I want to smooth combine Eastern art and Western art, I want to portray the motifs of the East and the spirit of the West.” (According to documents from Pham Dat – Quang Vinh).
Tran Phuc Duyen is an artist of the inside, of romance, lyricism, and poetry. His works all aim at beauty and goodness from content to form. Throughout, there is a passionate affection for the homeland.
And with lacquer, Tran Phuc Duyen wants to tell us the story: “Beneath the layers of paint, a deep soul whispers to us pictures of dreams.” – François CHENG, Writer, Poet, Member of the French Academy.
