Artist recalls his boyhood in paintings

Artist Ton That Bang sings his song “Co gi dau” at the press conference at Phuong Mai Gallery in HCMC’s District 1 - Photo: My Tran

A painting exhibition named “Memories: Leaves and Flowers” by artist Ton That Bang will open at Phuong Mai Gallery, 129B Le Thanh Ton Street in HCMC’s District 1 on Sunday.

The artist uses his brush to recollect his childhood in 30 oil paintings on canvas.

His memories are wooden horses, girls whose dresses are sewn of leaves and skirts weaved of reeds and an old woman with a giant leaf on her head. Some of the subjects stand solidly on the ground, others seem about to topple, while some are weightless. Coins and dices represent life as a game of chance.

Bang says, “Childhood is the time people embrace in their memories and heart. My memories are simple with my mother, my wife and my daughters. I owe them a debt of gratitude as they share everything in this life, protect me and support me to paint.”

The exhibition runs till February 28.

Ton That Bang was born in 1963 in Quang Tri Province and his paintings have been in many group and solo exhibitions in Vietnam, Australia, the U.S., the U.K., Hong Kong and Singapore. He is also a musician and poet.

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Mihagui returns with third exhibition

A visitor inspects a painting by Robert Mihagui at the Phuong Mai Gallery in HCMC’s District 1 - Photo: My Tran

After the success of his two previous exhibitions in 2006 and 2007, the Vietnamese French painter, Robert Mihagui, is back with a new exhibition named “Home Color: West and East.” The exhibition will open on Saturday at Phuong Mai Gallery, 129B Le Thanh Ton Street, HCMC’s District 1.

The exhibition features 30 oil abstracts of the landscapes in France and North Vietnam.  Everybody sees something different in Mihagui’s work but the power of the sky, land and the water is in all of his paintings.

“Although I paint in an abstract style that many Vietnamese are
unfamiliar with, the viewer can imagine magnificent mountains, gentle rivers, waterfalls, old houses and trees,” Mihagui said. He added that he wants to encourage his audience  to view his work with the soul and not the eyes.

He chooses to exhibit in Vietnam instead of developed Asian countries like Hong Kong or Singapore because of a spiritual connection with this country.

 “I always see images of where I was born in my mind’s eye, even in my dreams, which inspires me to paint in an amorphous style. I record the memories of my childhood using brushes and colors. I think, wherever you go, you always want to go back to where you come from.”

Born in 1945 in Vinh Phuc Province, Robert left Vietnam at 13 with his French father and studied fine arts from 1961-1984 in Surgeres in France. Mahagui was interested in pictorial techniques and pigments and was greatly influenced by the works of Zaou Wou Ki, a Chinese painter. At the age of 25, he decided to concentrate his energies on a personal style which is somewhere between abstraction and post-impressionism.

The exhibition runs till Dec. 18.

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