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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Farmers diary show explores rural/urban divide

A man looking at a basket of rice at the exhibition by artist Phan Quang at Galerie Quynh - Photo: My Tran

An art exhibition called ‘A Farmer’s Diary” by Phan Quang opened last night at the Galerie Quynh, 65 De Tham Street, District 1, HCMC.

The exhibition is supported by the gallery’s Emerging Artists Program, which was initiated in 2009 to give young Vietnamese artists a platform to present experimental work and develop their practice through critical discourse.

Comprising two site-specific installations, a time-lapse video and digital c-prints, A Farmer’s Diary is a photographic project that Phan started last year.

Images of both the countryside and city pervade his work. Attempting to reconcile urban and rural divides and highlight Vietnam’s accelerated socio-economic development, the artist presents a body of work that weaves his personal experiences with fictive scenarios.

The resulting images oscillate between dreamscapes and reality. Born in the farming community of Binh Dinh but now living and working in HCMC, he is the embodiment of the blurred boundaries between the city and the countryside. “I was born in countryside and many my relatives still work in rice fields, so images of farmers and immense rice fields never fade from my memory,” said Phan Quang.

The exhibition runs till October 30.

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Sculptors show shapes of two cities

A visitor looks at a piece called “Doi” by Bui Viet Hung at the exhibition at Applied Arts Gallery- Photo: My Tran

A group sculpture exhibition opened at the Applied Arts Gallery, 5 Phan Dang Luu Street, HCMC’s Binh Thanh District on the weekend.

The exhibition called Sculpture Saigon Hanoi has pieces made by 15 sculptors from both cities.

The 30 sculptures are modern and moody, made from mixed mediums such as wood, stone and metal in abstract and organic shapes.

The artists aimed to create new perceptions about Vietnamese contemporary culture and art.

They said they hoped the show would promote sculpture to buyers as interest had declined in the artform and people rarely bought pieces to display at their homes anymore.   

The sculptors are Bui Hai Son, Vinh Do, Dao Hai Chau, Tran Viet Hung, Tran Mai Quoc Khanh, Nguyen Ngoc Lam, Hoang Tuong Minh, Tran Thanh Nam, Phan Phuong, Vu Quang Sang, Nguyen Xuan Tien, Tran Trong Tri, Khong Do Tuyen, Luong Van Viet Na Nguyen Hoai Huyen Vu.

The exhibition will  run untill September 18.

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Ly Dynasty and Buddhism examined in art show

Black and White exhibition shows Hanoi

An exhibition that examines the influence of Buddhism on the art that was made during the Ly Dynasty is open at Vietnam University of Fine Arts in Hanoi until September 5.

The Ly Dynasty was a critical art period in Vietnam’s unique cultural history and Buddhism, the dominant religion at the time, had a major impact on the type of art that was emerging.

The occasion of 1,000 years of Thang Long – Hanoi is a good time to look back at the ancient art of the country.

*An exhibition named “Hanoi – The country’s heart”, featuring more than 100 black and white photos, opened at the exhibition house at 29 Hang Bai Street in Hanoi on August 23, reports VietnamPlus.

The exhibition aims to mark the 1,000th anniversary of Thang  Long-Hanoi. The photos were selected from the photographic archives of Vietnam News Agency and from reporters of the agency. The pictures show the victorious history of Hanoi after years of building up the Democratic Republic of Vietnam.

The exhibition has several sections: President Ho Chi Minh and the Party’s officers, Hanoi and days of revolution during the resistance wars against the French colonialists and American imperialists, and landscapes, architecture and daily life of Hanoi.

The exhibition includes images of street corners with bicycles and cyclos, golden leaves falling down on streets in autumn, bridges spanning the Red River, brave soldiers, children with their mother being evacuated during war and the city festooned in flags and flowers to welcome troops after the victory.

The exhibition runs till August 29.

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