QUẢNG TRỊ — The famed late anti war artist Lê Bá Đảng's exhibition Khát Vọng Hoà Bình (Desire for Peace), in his hometown, has over a hundred pieces never been seen before, after his family brought them from France to Việt Nam.

Visitors view the artworks of artist Lê Bá Đảng in his hometown in Quảng Trị Province. -- VNA/VNS Photo Nguyên Linh

The display contains a variety of art forms including oil and watercolour paintings, sketches, woven carpets, wooden and bronze statues, ceramics and, amazingly, bits from a B52 plane.

The exhibition also features documents supporting the resistance and opposing the war, written by the artist and his wife and documents on the fine arts project in his hometown of Quảng Trị.

This exhibition honours the values of peace and calls on everyone visiting to work together to create a peaceful and happy life.

This is the third time that the works of Đảng have been exhibited in his hometown. 

The first was in 1992, after more than half a century away, when he returned home to Việt Nam.

The second time was in 2021 when his family organised a small exhibition on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth.

The late artist, who was born and grew up in Bích La Đông village in central Quảng Trị Province’s Triệu Phong district, left Việt Nam at the age of 18 to join the French Resistance fighting against the Nazis. 

He was subsequently captured, but after being released he studied at the Toulouse School of Fine Arts (Ecole des Baux-Arts Toulouse) in 1942-48.

Đảng also had several exhibitions at the HCM City Museum, the International Festival of Huế and the War Exhibition at the Việt Nam National Museum of History of Hà Nội between 2002-2011.

During his 70-year career, Đảng received many titles, including the Award of the International Institute of Saint-Louis in the US, in 1989 and the Order of Art (Chevalier de l’ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by the Ministry of Culture of France in 1994.

The French-Vietnamese artist was given a medal by the Vietnamese Government for his peace and anti-war activities.

Today, his works are in the collections of the Cincinnati Museum of Art, the Rockefeller Collection in New York and the Phoenix Museum of Art, among others.

The exhibition will end on July 14 at Bích La Đông Village, Triệu Thành Commune, Triệu Phong District, Quảng Trị Province. — VNS