Co-organised under the coordination of the Vietnam Women’s Museum, Le Ba Dang Memorial Space and Lan Tinh Foundation, ‘The Origins’ is not only an artistic activity but also encourages generations of women to continue to rise up and affirm their own values.
With a deep affection for the concept of “the origins”, the female painter To Bich Hai seeks memories and feelings about her homeland through objects present in natural life and daily activities.
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The exhibition attracts many visitors |
The exhibition is a journey following the major changes in artist To Bich Hai’s career, when she experimented with different materials such as oil paint, graphite, and wood carving.
The series of oil paintings “The Origins” focuses on the visual effect when the tree roots are painted in large sizes, the roots are tightly woven into the solid tree trunk like ropes. The tree roots run along the entire trunk of the tree, like nerve fibres connecting each piece of the artist’s memory. Because of this large size, these can be considered portraits of “the origin”.
The two series of works “Listening to the whispering stones” and “Listening to the sighing trees” are like an invitation for visitors to reflect on what is primitive and belongs to nature.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Nguyen Thi Tuyet, Director of the Vietnam Women's Museum, shared that the exhibition is not only an artistic mark of the painter To Bich Hai but also a source of inspiration for women to continue creating art.
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| The exhibition is a journey following the major changes in artist To Bich Hai’s career, when she experimented with different materials such as oil paint, graphite, and wood carving. |
The series of still life lacquer paintings is a new perspective of the artist when she raises the issue of the origin of nature through the slices of fruits. The series of portraits of children takes us into the small branches of To Bich Hai's life when she was far away from home. Finally, the installation sculpture "Totem" brings viewers back to the simplest things of traditional worship customs.
The female artist shared: “I am merely a seed, a wild grass seeking the light to listen to the lament of trees and the stones whisper in their metamorphosis."
The exhibition runs until March 25.
Painter To Bich Hai (Tay ethnic group) was born in Mong Cai City, Quang Ninh Province. In 1967, she graduated from the Lausanne Provincial Painting Institute, Switzerland.
She has many works archived at the Roybet Fould Museum, Courbevoie Province; Poissy Provincial Museum; and La Fabuloserie "Exceptional" Museum.
