Ancient capital in gentle hues
(11-11-2009)
HCM CITY — Fifteen oil on canvas works by Le Van Nhuong named Me and 30 others under the theme Moving are on display in HCM City.
“This is my second solo exhibition after the first one long ago. After 10 years I have something to tell everyone,” Nhuong says.
“But this time I don’t tell about my works but my works tell about me.”
LNtl01-Me I
In Me, Nhuong has an outsized shadow in one painting, walks on a palette using stilts made of brush in another, and is in the narrow neck of an hourglass in a third trying to stop time.
Moving is all about meditation. He has let his brush move freely to indicate the myriad directions one can move in life. The result is tender and, somewhat like Hue, the ancient capital, dreamy and romantic.
LNtl09-Me IX
With laid-back Hue being his hometown, he says, his personality and works reflect its gentle pace. “It may be a strength or a weakness.”
Nhuong was born in 1960 and graduated from the College of Arts at Hue University, in 1996. He is a member of Viet Nam Fine Arts Association and has taken part in a number of group exhibitions in Viet Nam and Japan.
“Nhuong’s paintings are among the top sellers,” says Nguyen Quang Cuong, owner of Phuong Mai Gallery, where the exhibition is being held.
LNtl21-Moving IX
“He creates semi-abstract works and so it is easy for everyone to relate to them in the same way. His paintings feature bright colours and are suitable for modern houses.”
The exhibition is on until this Sunday at Phuong Mai, 129 B, Le Thanh Ton Street, District 1, and the works can also be seen at www.vietnam-art.com.vn.
Nhuong’s paintings are priced at US$200 to $2,000. — VNS
