HÀ NỘI — Leading Vietnamese silk painters have gathered to present their artworks at an exhibition in Hà Nội. 

Silk 2022, an ongoing exhibition taking place at the Ánh Dương Art Space, showcases silk paintings by Vũ Đình Tuấn, Bùi Tiến Tuấn, Nguyễn Đức Toàn, Lưu Chí Hiếu and Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Minh.

A visitor enjoy with a silk painting at the ‘Silk 2022’. — Photo nhandan.vn

Painting on silk first began in Việt Nam centuries ago and played an important role in Vietnamese fine arts. 

After a long period of developing techniques and styles, silk painting reached its peak of success during the 1930s, when artists from the Indochina Fine Arts College combined the influence of Western arts with Oriental aesthetics, to create unique silk paintings. 

Since then, many generations of Vietnamese artists have inherited traditional values while creating new painting styles that reflect the breadth of the time.

Interested in the topic of women, at Silk 2022 painter Bùi Tiến Tuấn's works portray images of women in a very distinctive and individual way. In his paintings, the women present a sense of harmony and peace.

The artist said: "If you want to know what society is like, look at the women of that society."

Vũ Đình Tuấn's paintings instead depict nature’s beauty.

The artist said about his paintings: "Imagine that we are looking at nature through a facial-shaped window."

The painting ‘The Oriental Garden 03’ by Vũ Đình Tuấn. — Photo qdnd.vn

His series The Oriental Garden presents different social-emotional states: the chaos of society, the stillness of plants, and the exhilaration of live creatures.

“However, those states are whatever we can see outside, by our own perception. In the inner being, behind that window is peace and being yourself,” he said.

The paintings by Nguyễn Đức Toàn have fewer colours but are more refined and full of emotion.

His series Sleepless is a flow of time – from the moment flowers fully blossom to when they gradually wither and get to the end of a life cycle.

“Looking at things, I see a portrait of ‘Time’. Although the time has passed, it is possible to feel the beauty of every moment,” he said.

For the only female painter Nguyễn Thị Hoàng Minh, her artworks fully express the softness and clarity through the medium of silk. They present different levels of emotions and dreams.

The Silk 2022 is open to the public until August 7. The Ánh Dương Art Space is located in the Golf Long Biên Club Building in Phúc Đồng Ward, Long Biên District, Hà Nội. — VNS