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"Hanging on the time" by painter Buu Chi
Eye-catching
Celebrating the Fine Arts day this year (December 10), the Department of Culture and Sports and University of Arts – Hue University have done a very meaningful job for Hue art when organizing the exhibition "Hoi ngo". This exhibition not only introduces to the public the outstanding artworks of Hue through the different stages but also marks a milestone in the preparation of the establishment of Hue Museum of Fine Arts – what Hue artists had yearned for throughout the last several decades.
The exhibition featured 33 typical, outstanding paintings winning national and regional awards over the different periods of time, collected by the Department of Culture and Sports, and artworks by famous painters of Hue. In particular, there are artworks by artists Ton That Dao, Vinh Phoi, Buu Chi, Do Ky Hoang, Duong Dinh Sang, etc. There are also many works of high artistic value of typical painters who are teachers and students of University of Arts – Hue University, such as Truong Be, Phan Thanh Binh, Le Van Nhuong, Nguyen Thien Duc, and six new works donated by young artists.
There have been not many eye-catching exhibitions as this one. While the oil painting “Phong canh” ("Landscape") by artist Ton That Dao - who is praised as a master painter of Hue by generations of talented Hue artists – expresses the peaceful, gentle and romantic character of Hue, Buu Chi’s painting is a human experience in the finite space and time of the universe, with the clock, the lamp, the human in the work “Treo tren thoi gian” (lit. "Hanging on the time"). The painting “Dan ba” ("Woman") by painter Duong Dinh sang is a world of dreams and metaphors, and “Net Hue” ("Hue character") by painter Ha Van Chuoc is the image of the gentle and dreamy Hue girl.
"Hue character" by painter Ha Van Chuoc
Promotion of Hue Museum of Fine Arts establishment
Almost 30 years ago, the establishment of the Hue Museum of Fine Arts was proposed. One of the people who put it forward was researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa, former Director of the Department of Culture and Information of Thua Thien Hue. At that time, he had the idea and quietly collected paintings of famous artists using the limited budget of the cultural sector.
Associate Prof. Dr. Phan Thanh Binh, Rector of University of Arts said, "The contribution of researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa is significant, thanks to that we can visit this exhibition. The best and most typical works of a whole process and the prominent faces of Hue art were presented in the collection of the Department of Culture and Sports. Other works of alumni and lecturers who were invited to take part in the exhibition have shown the sacred flow of Hue art attached to the ancient capital.”
Recalling the time when he collected the paintings, researcher Nguyen Xuan Hoa shared, " When I was the Director of the Department of Culture and Information, I suggested many times that the Hue Museum of Fine Arts should be promoted." In order to have a museum, first of all there should be some outstanding artworks of Hue. With the limited resources of the culture sector, we spent part of the budget on a collection of about 20 paintings of the famous artists of Hue. We have chosen to buy artworks that won regional and national awards, based on the comments of the prestigious Arts Council." Mr. Hoa emphasized that the response of Hue artists was very valuable. When it came to price, it didn’t matter much to the artists.
The exhibition "Hoi ngo" is clearly an orientation for the establishment of Hue Museum of Fine Arts. This year, the Department of Culture and Sports re-launches the purchase of artworks, proceeding to establish the Hue Museum of Fine Arts, with an orientation from now to 2020. In response to this, some young artists also donate their artworks. "From now until 2020, the province will allocate funds to buy works of artistic value. In 2017, the province will allocate one billion VND, and next year, we recommend 2 billion VND. Through the exhibitions, we together with the Arts Council chose to buy works of high artistic value and at the same time encourage artists to donate their works, " said Mr. Phan Tien Dung, Director of the Department of Culture and Sports.
Associate Prof. Dr. Phan Thanh Binh stated, "The aspiration of Hue artists for the establishment of the Hue Museum of Fine Arts is very high. The museum is established as soon as possible, to save the best works of Thua Thien Hue, to meet the people’s need to enjoy fine arts. This is a memorable exhibition, showing the door of Hue Museum of Fine Arts in the future will be opened soon.”
The painters from Hue with famous figures in the national art world and the young artists are creative forces, who are considered the resources to build the Museum of Fine Arts in both quantitative and qualitative terms. Assoc. Prof. Dr. Phan Thanh Binh believes, "From the creative resources of Hue with many local and national artists, and the strength of Hue University of Arts, I believe they are strong enough to create good works. We need to buy the works of young artists, do not wait until they become so famous that we cannot afford their works. This is also the experience learned from other museums."
Promoting the establishment of the Hue Museum of Fine Arts, the Advisory Council has agreed with the Department of Culture and Sports to draw up a collection plan with a list of artists whose works are to be collected, in which there are typical works of artists such as Ton That Dao, Vinh Phoi, Buu Chi .
Story and photos: Trang Hien