The cover of Họa sỹ Trịnh Hữu Ngọc – Di sản đặc biệt của Mỹ thuật Đông Dương (Special Legacy of Franco –Indochinese Fine Arts). Photos courtesy of Omega Plus

HÀ NỘI A bilingual book featuring the life and career of the late artist Trịnh Hữu Ngọc (1912 - 1997), a graduate of the Indochina College of Fine Arts in the early 20th century, has been published by Omega Plus and Fine Arts Publishing House.

Entitled Họa Sỹ Trịnh Hữu Ngọc – Di Sản Đặc Biệt Của Mỹ thuật Đông Dương (Special Legacy of Franco –Indochinese Fine Arts), the publication is written by artist Trịnh Lữ as a dedication to his father, an artist who made tireless contributions to the fields of painting and interior design in Việt Nam

The 400-page English-Vietnamese bilingual book includes some 600 images and paintings and is divided into three sections - Life and Career, Special Legacy, Commentary and Remembrance.

The author has skillfully depicted not only the character and intellectual progress of Ngọc during a time of significant change in Vietnamese society but also highlighted his contributions to his homeland during both war and the period of social transformation, despite the challenges and hardships he faced in his personal life and career.

As a graduate of the Indochina College of Fine Arts, the artist utilised his expertise and creativity not only in painting and researching unique techniques for creating Vietnamese lacquer paintings, but also in other fields of art.

He achieved great success and recognition in collaboration with MÉMO Ébénisterie wood workshop, his illustrations for the book Hoa Xuân and Trỉ Tân newspaper. Readers will see that Ngọc’s career was closely tied to applied arts, enriching the lives of Vietnamese people with his own ideas and contributions.

His unique career was guided by the principles of Zen, Virtue, and Beauty, with a prime example being the practice of Zen Painting, which involves using the "eyes to see and the hands to paint." This philosophy is clearly reflected in the extensive collection of works featured in this book.

The 400-page bilingual book includes some 600 images and paintings, featuring the life and career of the late artist Trịnh Hữu Ngọc.

Readers will experience not only Ngọc’s painting techniques and artistic mindset but also compare and contrast his works with the styles and techniques of his respected teachers such as Victor Tardieu, Joseph Inguimberty, and Alix Aymé. Through this comparison, they can understand why the celebrated artist is considered a special legacy of Indochina Fine Arts.

"Even the act of carving tables and chairs to produce works of art is a testament to Trịnh Hữu Ngọc's talent. His name, as the owner of the Mémo carpentry workshop specialising in producing modern-style furniture, is well-known to many people,” commented historical researcher Nguyễn Bá Đạm.

On the occasion of the book's release, a talk and book introduction event will be held on July 7 at the National Archives Centre I, 5 Vũ Phạm Hàm Street, Cầu Giấy District. The event will be attended by guest speakers including author-artist Trịnh Lữ, art researcher Phạm Long, artist-researcher Trần Hậu Yên Thế, artist Lương Xuân Đoàn and researcher Vũ Huy Thông.

Painter Trinh Lữ, whose real is Trịnh Hữu Tuấn, was born in Hà Nội in 1948. He inherited his love for art from his father, the late painter Trịnh Hữu Ngọc, and his mother, artist Nguyễn Thị Khang. He has pursued and achieved success in various fields from painting, writing, translation, and consulting on communication development. VNS