“Fishing village” by Nguyen Dang Son
Honoring the beauty of Hue
In mid-March, the young artist group "Hue Ta" launched a public art exhibition "A Glimpse of Tam Giang" at Ta Cafe & Bakery (44 Pham Ngu Lao, Hue City).
The 28 paintings displayed were created with rich materials, including: sculptures, lacquer paintings, oil paintings, silk paintings, acrylic paintings, etc. They show the beauty of nature and people in Tam Giang Lagoon. These are pictures of boats anchored on the lagoon, stilt houses, stake traps, pictures of the immense body of water, and the lives of those in the fishing villages. All are expressed in bright colors.
Contributing four pieces of art in the exhibition, artist Nguyen Khac Tai portrayed Tam Giang’s beauty as a shimmering water painting. The images of the gently flowing river, the mooring boats and the rustic village life touched the hearts of those who admired them.
Painter Nguyen Khac Tai said: "I created these paintings directly when I was admiring the natural scenery of Tam Giang Lagoon. At dawn or sunset, the scenery here is strangely beautiful. The impact of light creates color rhythms that vibrate the soul of the artist."
The painting "Peace" by Hoang Xuan Hieu is the image of a fishing village along the river. With acrylic material, Hoang Xuan Hieu expressed his work with a dreamy golden light and with emphasizing paint strokes, sometimes hidden, other times appearing. Using a light-color palette, the red lacquer hue in Nguyen Dang Son’s “Afternoon village” became a special highlight. In the afternoon, standing from one side of the river looking to the other side, the shadows of the houses printed on the river is a charming and poetic scene.
Before the exhibition "A Glimpse of Tam Giang," "Hue Ta" organized other various public exhibitions such as "Hue in Spring" and "Spring flowers" in late 2017 and early 2018. If "Hue in Spring" showcased the beauty of famous landscapes in Hue, such as The Imperial Citadel, Trang Tien Bridge, the Huong river, the tombs, then "Spring flowers" showed still pictures of the beauty of flowers blooming in spring. After Tam Giang lagoon, the group will continue to create on the topics of Buddhism and Hue gardens.
“Peace” by Hoang Xuan Hieu
Stimulating creative energy
Established at the end of 2017, the group of artists "Hue Ta" includes 13 people, mostly young lecturers at Hue University of Fine Arts, such as Phan Quang Tan, Phan Thanh Quang, Vo Quang Phat, Nguyen Anh Duong. Every two months, the group launches an exhibition. At the opening of each exhibition, the group will announce the theme of the next exhibition.
With the name "Hue Ta," the young artists want to showcase the beauty, culture, people and features of Hue to the public through art. Painter Phan Thanh Quang, a member of the group, said: "We use the images and the beauty of Hue as the theme of the exhibition to promote the beauty of Hue culture through art."
In this playground, the theme, style, and genre of the artists are directed towards what is close and easily relatable to the public. Painter Phan Quang Tan said: "We want to create a playground to bring our works closer to the public. The theme of the group's composition is natural scenery and natural beauty which are easy for the public to understand and appreciate. We steer away from creating abstract paintings which can establish a distance with the viewers.”
Not only creating a playground to stimulate the creativity of young artists, "Hue Ta" also organizes the sale of paintings through exhibitions and on Facebook. In the context of the slow market for paintings in Hue, this is a good way to bring fine art into life, as well as to help artists earn more income to nurture their passion and contribute more to Hue’s art life.
"Afternoon village" by Nguyen Dang Son
One of the goals of "Hue Ta" is to create paintings which can be sold as souvenir and gift products to bring Hue images to visitors from faraway. Painter Phan Quang Tan said: "The number of paintings sold through the exhibitions is quite high. This proves that people are very interested in art, if the work touches their emotions. Many people say that if a piece of work is too abstract for them to understand, they are not as willing to approach it.”
The group "Hue Ta" also receives offers to create art projects to raise funds, support artistic talents and do charity. The group is expected to create works dedicated to Hue Central Hospital to encourage patients with more motivation to recover from their illnesses.
Not only limited to young lecturers of the University of Fine Arts, members of "Hue Ta" would also like to invite more artists with passion and creative ability to participate in the exhibitions, with the hope of expanding exhibitions from the current modest space to a larger space.
Story and photos: Trang Hien