HÀ NỘI — As many as 18 historical paintings and posters by late Cuban artist Felix René Mederos Pazos are on display in an exhibition entitled Hồi Tưởng Thực Tại (A Present Retrospective), held at Work Room Four in the capital’s Tây Hồ District.

For the first time, with an aim to shorten the distance between art and real life, the organisers at Work Room Four have brought the artworks of Pazos to viewers.

Big moment: For the first time, with an aim of shorten the distance between arts and real life, the organisers and curators of Work Room Four have brought the artworks of Pazos to viewers. — Photo Courtesy of Work Room Four

The paintings, created by the artist during from 1969 to 1972, were scenes of the American war in Việt Nam he captured while travelling to both the North and South of Việt Nam, along the Hồ Chí Minh Trail with the liberation forces.

He experienced first-hand the brutal conditions of the war and the courageous spirit of the Vietnamese people. After being exhibited in Hà Nội, they subsequently were reproduced as a screen-printed series shown all over the world.

Pazos is largely known in Việt Nam for the creation of stamp collection The 80th birthday anniversary of Hồ Chí Minh, issued by Cuba on the occasion of the Vietnamese president’s 80th birthday, May 19, 1970.

Pazos was born on November 20, 1933 in Sagua la Grande, Cuba. A self-taught artist, he began to work in a Havana printing factory in 1944 and was appointed Chief Designer for Cuba’s principal TV station in 1959.

In 1964, at the beginning of the new wave of Cuban graphic design, Pezos began creating his first posters while leading the design team of the company Intercommunications.

His last major project was a 14-panel portable mural series on Che Guevara.

As an artist, Pazos’s style, with its bright, firmly contoured surface, its exuberant natural patterns and its strong, political themes, has established a unique standard for graphic design in Cuba and influenced a whole generation of graphic artists all over the world. He died of cancer in Havana on September 24, 1996.

Witnesses: Visitors view works by late Cuban painter Felix René Mederos Pazos. — Photo Courtesy of Work Room Four

The exhibition also displays artworks of five Vietnamese contemporary artists: Lê Quý Tông, Nguyễn Thế Sơn, Nguyễn Nghĩa Cương, Phạm Khắc Quang, and Giang Nguyễn. The paintings are the improvisations on the topics raised in Pazos’s artworks.

For the masses: Visitors enjoy paintings by late Cuban painter Felix René Mederos Pazos. — Photo Courtesy of Work Room Four

Nguyễn Ngọc Tuệ, a visitor, expressed his admiration at the paintings.

“For a young person like me, it is such a precious experience to view the historical paintings of the famous Cuban artist who I admire a great deal, and to see the close-knit relationship of Việt Nam and Cuba,” he said.

The exhibition lasts until June 6. Entrance is free for the public at Packexim Building Tower 1, 24th Floor, 49 Lane 15, An Dương Vương Street. — VNS