Jacob Raymond performs painting inspired by music in Paris. -- Photo courtesy of L'Espace

HÀ NỘI  With a smartphone, visitors can scan the QR code on the painting by Jacob Reymond at an exhibition which has opened in Hà Nội, then listen to the song that inspired him to create the painting.

This is one of the interesting reactions between music and fine art, and between the artist and audiences, at the exhibition Musical Painting on Friday.

Reymond showcased artworks created with colourful Chinese ink and acrylic on canvas. They are inspired by classical music of Igor Stravinsky and Jean Sebastian Bach; contemporary music by Steve Reich, Philippe Hersant and Pascal Dusapin or jazz rhythms.

The colourful strokes in the painting The Rite of Spring look like musical notes on the sheet of Stravinsky’s work.

As scheduled, the artist will perform at the opening ceremony of the exhibition, however, due to the pandemic, he can’t travel to Việt Nam. Instead, the audiences were feted with the performance of the artist and clarinet player Vincent Thomas. Reymond also panelled an online discussion with visitors in Hà Nội from France.

Thomas graduated from Aix-en-Provence Conservatory of Music, majoring in clarinet. He then performed officially for the Orchestre des Prix of the Paris National Academy of Music.

He has performed at many famous auditoriums in France. Since 2018, he has performed clarinet solo at the Orchestra Philharmonic of the Pays d’Aix.

 “Some people choose the straight path, others follow the unknown turns. I belong to the second group,” said Reymond.

"At the age of 16, I started working as a shift worker in a factory… and began painting, at the same time. When I was 17, I went on adventures.”

“At the age of 20, I had my first personal exhibition. After a few years, I abandoned the paintbrushes because I was too curious to discover other artistic practices: theatre, music, and cinema.”

Reymond said he often looks at the musical sheets for a long time, decodes them in his own way then reproduces it by a painting with strokes and colours, expressing how he feels and understands the song.

“More or less, all bring me joy… During all this time, I met great artists who taught me a lot. Finally, I got back to painting in earnest. As music is my passion, I always paint with music. Now, I paint the music."

The exhibition will run until August 31 at the French Cultural Centre L’Espace, 24 Tràng Tiền Street, Hoàn Kiếm District, Hà Nội. VNS