As the time comes again, right during the time when the whole world is joyfully celebrating International Women’s Day on March 8th, coinciding with the early days of the Year of the Pig, the festive atmosphere still lingers on the late-blooming peach branches. Female artists from the Female Authors’ Club of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association gather once more at their familiar venue, the 16 Ngô Quyền Exhibition House in Hanoi, to organize an art exhibition titled “Revisiting Memories.” The exhibition lasts for half a month (March 8th-23rd) and has attracted considerable interest from art lovers in the capital. It is indeed a promising sign.
This year’s theme, set by the Club’s Executive Committee for its members, is “The Land of Old Memories.” An intriguing theme, it promises to touch the hearts of many generations of artists. And indeed, the 84 works by 84 authors on display evoke various emotions in viewers, a mix of nostalgia and poignancy. Each person’s land of memories is unique, containing both beautiful recollections and memories that will follow us forever. Memories can be vast and somewhat “vague,” but the female artists have skillfully handled them with canvases, lacquer, and other familiar materials like oil paint, lacquer, gouache, and silk to produce their most satisfying works.
LÊ KIM MỸ – Weaving Loom. Silk. 45x65cm
NGUYỄN THỊ TIẾN – Plum Blossoms. Lacquer. 60x120cm
NGUYỄN THỊ THU – Lotus and Young Woman. Lacquer. 81x87cm
Most of the female artists at the exhibition have established their styles, which they have followed throughout their artistic careers. Some have achieved fame with a distinctive “brand” unique to them, while others, though not widely known, find joy in creation itself. Viewers can easily recognize Lê Kim Mỹ’s emotionally rich but subtle silk works, with “Weaving Loom” being a typical piece. Nguyễn Thị Tiến contributes with “Plum Blossoms,” evoking memories of her time in the majestic Northwest. Phùng Mỵ Trâm’s “The Way Home” depicts girls and the landscapes of the Northwest, an inexhaustible source of inspiration etched deeply in the minds of artists. Nguyễn Thị Thu presents a beautiful lacquer work “Lotus and Young Woman,” still inspired by flora, while Phan Thị Thanh Mai’s “Spring Colors” is favored for its bright hues. The vibrant Hanoi cityscape is visible in works like Mai San’s “Spring by the Lake,” Bùi Lan Phương’s “Autumn Sun,” and Nguyễn Thị Hồng’s “Morning in the City.” Interspersed in the exhibition space are sculptures like Nguyễn Hiên’s “Missing my child,” Hoàng Thanh Như’s “Sea Flowers,” Nguyễn Thị Kim Liên’s “Stamen,” and Lê Thị Hiền’s “Balance.”
NGUYỄN THỊ BÍCH HỒNG – Morning in the City. 2018. Acrylic. 62x80cm
VŨ TUYẾT MAI – Youth. 2018. Lacquer. 80x80cm
NGUYỄN THỊ HIÊN – Missing My Child. Composite. H = 75cm
Special mention must be made of the veteran painter Nguyễn Minh Mỹ (now nearly 100 years old), a “great inspirer” to female artists in particular and the art community in general, demonstrating the relentless spirit of artistic labor. She participates with a silk work full of humanistic love, “Mother and Child.” Many other female artists’ names could be mentioned, though the article’s scope cannot cover them all. However, the important thing is that through this exhibition, the female artists once again affirm their role and position in modern society. A beautiful woman does not necessarily have to be confined to family or kitchen duties. They can excel in both roles, sometimes even surpassing expectations.
To conclude, let’s quote a segment from the introduction by Art Critic Nguyễn Hải Yến (currently the Head of the Female Authors’ Club) about the exhibition: “Everyone keeps a memory of their own. Artists especially cherish the past memories of a distant time. Those memories are of peaceful villages, the warm kitchen fires of stilt houses on cold winter evenings, the familiar roads returning for family reunions during old New Year celebrations. Memories are the return from the silent sorrows of war, the encounters and shared ups and downs with friends. Even though memories may fade, they remain nostalgic. We cherish the timeless values that do not fade with the years.”
Hoàng Chính
