The exhibition organizers introduce to the public 3 main groups of paintings: Folk paintings, paintings of famous people Nguyen Trai and Buddhist paintings. Folk paintings are applied and created with rich colors on a completely new creative material: carved lacquer.
Coming to the exhibition, the public can see familiar paintings such as "Than Ke" of Kim Hoang painting village, one of the famous paintings that has been restored, with the meaning of bringing luck and having the effect of warding off evil spirits. The painting "Ngu Ho" - Hang Trong painting was combined by the ancients with the law of the five elements into the year of the Tiger, which is the wish to send people to the five directions, to ward off evil forces.
Hanoi Museum and Latoa Indochine also combined to convert the portrait of Nguyen Trai into lacquer carving, size 106cm x 106cm for display. This is the portrait of Nguyen Trai of Hanoi Museum, painted with gouache on canvas in 1917, signed by the author: PDTUE, 1/1/1917. The original painting is 220cm long and 200cm wide.
Lacquer carving is a creative and unique combination of two traditional painting methods: lacquer and carving. Through many stages from carving, lacquer coloring... and meticulous gold and silver plating, with a completion time of 2 to 3 months, the image in the painting reaches sharpness, depth and when observed closely, layers of luxurious and beautiful colors will appear.
In addition, Hanoi Museum and Latoa Indochine introduce to the public Buddhist-inspired paintings such as “Truc Lam Dai Si Xuat Son Do” and “Huong Van Dai Dau Da”.
Notably, the exhibition features a reproduction of the 14th-century painting “The Great Bamboo Forest Master Leaving the Mountain”. The work depicts the event of the Buddhist Emperor Tran Nhan Tong attaining enlightenment and returning from Vu Lam cave, and King Tran Anh Tong and his officials welcoming him. “The Great Bamboo Forest Master Leaving the Mountain” is painted in a long scroll style consisting of two sections. There are 82 characters in the painting, including monks, Confucian scholars and Taoists, clearly demonstrating the idea of “Three religions respect each other” during the Tran Dynasty.
According to the author of the painting "Truc Lam Dai Si Xuat Son Do" Luong Minh Hoa: Each work is first sketched on the computer, then he uses a tool to carve each detail to create black lines like traditional folk paintings. Next, the artist applies lacquer, gold, silver, each color is a layer, after each layer is a polishing. The entire process for a work must be up to 15-20 steps and takes about 3 months to complete.
Lacquer paintings with folk themes have kept the features and soul of folk paintings but created new nuances for the paintings by carving, gold and silver plating techniques. Lacquer paintings with gold and silver plating create contrasting and light-catching color blocks, making folk paintings have a new, more luxurious and valuable image.
Preserving cultural beauty
The works displayed at the exhibition are creations of Latoa Indochine artists after a long time of studying, researching, composing and experimenting with folk paintings and lacquer with the concern of how to preserve and spread the cultural heritage left by our ancestors, while at the same time enhancing the value of Vietnamese folk paintings on carved lacquer material.
Chairman of Latoa Indochine Pham Ngoc Long said: “This is a journey that Latoa Indochine has long cherished, a journey built by people who love and cherish the beauty of national culture. At the same time, we want to preserve the cultural and artistic values, national values, and feng shui values contained in each ancient folk painting and elevate it to a new level on the traditional lacquer carving material. Because, not only is it an ordinary material, more than that, folk paintings are also one of the cultural heritages, preserving and reflecting the nuances, customs, and practices of each region on the S-shaped strip of land”.
Highly appreciating the project, Researcher and Artist Phan Ngoc Khue said that folk paintings are expressed on lacquer material, so in addition to introducing folk paintings to domestic and foreign audiences, it also introduces traditional lacquer painting techniques.
Gold and silver lacquer paintings create contrasting and light-catching color blocks, making folk paintings have a new, more luxurious and valuable image. This is truly a meaningful project to preserve and promote folk paintings, which needs to be expanded and developed.
According to Director of Hanoi Museum Nguyen Tien Da: The exhibition is a very meaningful event, contributing significantly to the Project to Preserve Vietnamese Folk Paintings. Through the exhibition, the Organizing Committee wishes to bring viewers "to the end of tradition" back to the days of ancient folk painting to admire, feel and cherish a once glorious beauty. Then, together, preserve and spread it on the path of strong development of the times.
The exhibition runs until December 31 at Hanoi Museum, Pham Hung Street, Me Tri Ward, Nam Tu Liem District, Hanoi.
Latoa Indochine was established in June 2022, bringing together artists who share the same passion and enthusiasm for traditional lacquer and folk culture with familiar names in the art world such as Luong Minh Hoa, Nguyen Van Phuc (HTPhuc)... along with the technical collaboration of Nguyen Manh Ha, Hoang Dinh Duy, Nguyen Trong Khang, Pham Huy Tuan, Dinh Quang Hung, Nguyen Van Dien.
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