Nostalgia: Paintings from Vietnam

Life in Old days and Beauteous Ladies
A relaxed sunlit rural scene and the form of a woman wearing tr aditional Aodai ‒ such is the typical premise of much Vietnamese painting.

With its history as a French colony, Vietnam blends European culture with itsown original aesthetic. Since the foundation of École Supérieure des Beaux Arts del’ Indochine (the Indochina College of Fine Arts) in 1925, which is the first school of fine art in Southeast Asia, Vietnamese artists had explored an e xpression incorporating traditional Vietnamese materials, such as lacquer and silk, and painting techniques, while they were learning French style art and oil painting. A sleek and rich texture of lacquer, originally applied to decora tive folk arts, gives Vietnamese paintings a touch of nostalgia. Furthermore, the so ft tone coming from the effect of color sinking into the textile, and in detailed, almost translucent color application of Vietnamese silk paintings became one of the truly Vietnamese style of pictorial expressions.

Vietnamese art depicted tranquil mountain villages and the landscapes of the countryside throughout the French colonial era and the following war time. These paintings show the artists’ memory of a childhood, playing with farm animals in nature and their warm expression toward the people’ s livelihood. Moreover, Vietnamese art often focused on another subject; “women.” Lying down silently with their head a little on one side, women in Ao Dai dress wou ld be portrayed beautifully in Vietnamese painting. On the other hand, the women in Vietnamese war propaganda posters are usually depicted in an armed strong figure, yet always with flowers, which bring the beauty of charm.

Bringing together about 30 works of Vietnamese paintings, this exhibition introduces you the world of beauteous Vietnamese art, which nostalgia resides.