Nguyen Thai Vinh was born in 1972 in Ha Nam. He moved to the South when he was very young. He experimented with many painting styles and materials. The deep impression he left on the public was his bamboo paintings.
Painter Nguyen Thai Vinh with his work
His bamboo portrait of President Ho Chi Minh won the Vietnam Star Gold Award at the Hue Festival in 2004. Many other paintings of world leaders, natural landscapes, etc. also surprised the public and foreign tourists because of their vividness and authenticity on bamboo.
The artist and the painting he is drawing
He currently lives and works in Ho Chi Minh City and is still devoted to his work of painting bamboo.
"Bamboo Painting" is the name you gave to the art form you pursue. Can you tell us more about how to create a bamboo painting?
Painting on moving bamboo is completely different from painting on fixed materials such as paper or fabric. When creating on bamboo, the artist will feel the lines and colors moving and appearing and disappearing on the swaying of the bamboo fibers. But this is also a challenge for the artist in completing the work.
For example, to create a painting measuring 2 x 2 m, I need about 10,000 bamboo tubes. The bamboo tubes must be smooth and feel cooler than other types of bamboo.
The first but also extremely difficult step is to find straight bamboo shoots. Then scrape off all the bark, cut into straight, even pieces with a length of 6 cm, diameter of 3 - 5 mm. Then bring those bamboo segments to dry in the sun. After drying in the sun, string them into strings.
Then I started painting. Painting on bamboo requires the artist to paint with both hands at the same time, because only then can the bamboo painting be viewed from both sides, whether front or back, it still exudes liveliness and authenticity, it seems to awaken the viewer's senses. The eyes can see, the hands can touch and the ears can hear the rustling sounds of each bamboo segment strung into threads. The difficulty is that in more than 10,000 bamboo segments, the painting still becomes vivid in every color, every moment, every detail and the whole. Only by standing and watching the artist create can one see the intricacy of this art form.
Foreign friends who love bamboo paintings visit the studio
Which work impressed you in particular during the creation process?
I have a portrait painting of President Ho Chi Minh in oil and also displayed on bamboo curtain, size 100 x 170 cm.
I created this painting in 2002, when I first started exploring the field of bamboo painting. During the process of creating the work, the emotions and echoes of my hands interacting with the colorful bamboo joints and moving in the light made me remember forever. Therefore, this work has a very profound value for me. It does not have a commercial value but a value of experience and respect for the character I painted. When I brought this painting to Hue, I only had one wish: to exhibit it for the Festival and then donate it to the Ho Chi Minh Museum. The painting won the Vietnam Star Gold Award at the Hue Festival in 2004.
After struggling to experiment with bamboo paintings and succeeding, have you ever wanted to bring this genre of paintings to grow and reach the market?
20 years ago, I had a bamboo blind factory exporting to the US and European markets..., and an art gallery in Ho Chi Minh City. But because the source of raw materials from bamboo gardens in Cu Chi, Long An... gradually narrowed, the factory's activities also decreased.
There were times when I was discouraged because there were many difficulties and challenges to maintain the passion for this type of painting. However, it was my friends and those who loved Thai Vinh bamboo paintings who still came to me and ordered paintings, which motivated me to… overcome the difficulties.
I have had a plan for over 20 years to hold an exhibition on the art of bamboo paintings, to introduce to international friends the true values of this unique type of painting that only Vietnam has in the world. And I hope to bring my works to more young people as a way to evoke the cultural values of bamboo - a plant that is deeply attached to the soul and life of Vietnamese people.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/dung-dua-cung-tranh-truc-185250308202155867.htm
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