Vietnamese pottery - revived from the roots

Pottery and literature

An exhibition is not just an artistic event - but a historical dialogue between words and ceramic glaze. Artist Le Thiet Cuong - exhibition curator said, this is the first time there is a ceramic exhibition displaying works inspired by sentences/poems in short stories by writer Nguyen Huy Thiep.

Along with 40 contemporary artists, the 41st person "participating" in the exhibition is... the late writer Nguyen Huy Thiep, with his presence in his posthumous works and ceramic works.

Entering the exhibition space “Gom Thiep” at the Cultural and Artistic Center 22 Hang Buom (Hanoi), viewers not only admire more than 100 ceramic works with a contemporary breath. There is also a space of visual arts and literature, where the thorny stories, characters, and even the skeptical philosophy of Nguyen Huy Thiep are “molded” with a very… Vietnamese material: ceramics.

The exhibition, held on the occasion of the 75th anniversary of the late writer's birth (1950-2025), gathered more than 40 famous artists such as Le Tri Dung, Phan Cam Thuong, Dang Xuan Hoa, Le Thiet Cuong... Together, they embarked on a journey to "translate" Nguyen Huy Thiep - the man known as the one who awakened Vietnamese literature in the 1980s - using shapes, colored glazes and earthen fire.

Ceramics dialogue with words, with a different Thiep, but still a Thiep. From the round plates named “Retired General”, “Flow, Oh River”, to the portrait of the writer painted directly on a ceramic vase, the exhibition does not recreate the “original” Nguyen Huy Thiep but a Thiep peeled off - turned over - reflected through the prism of painting and clay glaze. Ceramics here is not just a material. It is a spirit.

There is something very similar between Nguyen Huy Thiep and Vietnamese ceramics: thorny, rustic, honest, sometimes taciturn - sometimes explosive. His writing is often "broken", like broken ceramics. But it is in those broken pieces that people see the human element - the element of life - the Vietnamese element. And now, that very language, from literature, is brought back to ceramics: a material closely associated with the hearth, the countryside, beliefs and daily life of the Vietnamese people.

Vietnamese ceramic flow

The larger story raised by this exhibition is: Where is Vietnamese ceramics in the flow of modern art? For more than half a century, we have been proud of Bat Trang, Chu Dau, Phu Lang, Bien Hoa… But how many of them have truly stepped out into the world as fine arts?

“Gốm Thiếp” is a welcome sign - but it also reveals a huge gap. While Japan has Raku pottery, Korea has Buncheong or Celadon displayed in the world's leading museums, Vietnamese pottery is still struggling between two extremes: either cheap souvenirs - or artisanal works in... the living room.

The artists at this exhibition - by combining contemporary thinking with traditional materials - have proven that ceramics are not for worship, nor for the market. It can be an artistic language with cultural depth - if invested in properly.

And take a look at Hoi An - a place that has been dubbed from a living museum to a cultural experimental space.

It is no coincidence that Hoi An was chosen as the venue for the exhibition “Gốm Thiếp”. This is an ancient city that not only preserves its architecture and lifestyle, but is also home to many layers of culture – from cuisine, fashion, architecture to handicrafts.

In the context of Vietnam’s tourism struggling between preservation and commercialization, Hoi An has emerged as an ideal “buffer zone” to experiment with new cultural spaces. Spaces like Củi Lũ Art Space – where the exhibition will take place – are a typical example of this “opening of boundaries”: not simply a gallery, but a place where memories and the present coexist, where pottery is not only displayed, but felt.

Bringing art into heritage spaces like Hoi An is also a way to renew tourism - instead of industrial "check-in" products, visitors can experience culture in depth: see, touch, think, and connect with the layers of meaning of this land.

Củi Lũ Art Space was established to honor Vietnamese handicrafts, becoming a bridge between traditional art and the contemporary world. It is not just a gallery, but also a creative space where art blends with nature and local culture.

The exhibition “Gốm Thiếp” here is likened to a metaphorical meeting not only between the artist and the writer. It is a meeting of memory and the future. Of tradition and contemporary. Of both Hoi An yesterday and Hoi An tomorrow.

And there, each ceramic pot - even though the glaze is cracked, the color is blurred - still carries within it whispers. That culture does not reside in museums. It lives - when someone dares to renew it. Dare to rethink tradition. Dare to draw greetings on ceramic.

Source: https://baoquangnam.vn/gom-viet-hoi-sinh-tu-coi-re-3152652.html