HÀ NỘI – The second ASEAN Graphic Art Competition ended yesterday with an awards ceremony and an exhibtion showcasing the best entries in downtown Hà Nội.

The event featured a wide variety of forms and a range of techniques by artists from ten ASEAN members.

Deputy Prime Minister Nguyễn Đức Đam cut the ribbon opening the event together with leaders of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism.

Addressing the awarding ceremony, Vi Kiến Thành, head of the ministry’s Fine Arts, Photography and Exhibition Department, noted that the second competition gathered 340 works by 198 artists from all ten ASEAN members, while the first event had included only nine countries.

The nine-member jury had worked to select 138 best works for the final exhibition.

The jury gave one first prize worth VNĐ50 million (US$2,200) in cash to Thai artist Praween Piangchompoo for his wood print work titled “Sanctuary inside the Soul”.

Two second prizes (VNĐ30 million each) went to Thai artist Amorn Thongpayong and Vietnamese artist Nguyễn Khắc Hân.

The jury also gave three third and five incentive prizes to the winners at the same ceremony.

“The general quality of this competition’s entries is much better than the previous one, expressing a broader range of ideas and more variety of materials,” he said. “Thai artists proved to be the best ones in the graphic art field in the region, with much more sophisticated skills.”

He analysed the first prize work as an example.

“This is a woodcut work, but it looks like a silk painting with gentle spreading of colours between cut layers,” Thành commented. “The jury decided to give the top prize to the work because not only does it represent distinguished professional skills in wood cutting and printing but it also touches audience’s feelings with the expression."

The first prize winner, Piangchompoo, who is from Chiangmai, revealed that he had worked on the project for one month.

Wattana Chot Tungateja, an art lecturer from Nakhon Sawan Rajabhat University, Thailand, said that the competition showed that ASEAN artists can compete in modern art with artists from Europe and the US.

“Thailand used to host such events before,” he said, “Now Việt Nam does the same thing. I hope Việt Nam will be a hub of graphic art in ASEAN. I wait for more creations in the field of regional artists.”

Prof Lê Huy Tiếp, a jury member, explained about the criteria that the jury had based on.

“The notion of beauty has not changed much through the year,” he said. “We often say a good graphic art work contains sharp differences between layers of cutting and printing and is well-treated with cutting and printing skills across the whole work. Yet the top winning work at this competition offers different value. There is no sharp changes between layers. Printed colours absorb professionally throughout the work creating an artful appearance.”

The exhibition runs at Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyễn Thái Học Street, till December 22. -- VNS