Exhibition “Vong Dong Kinh: Modern Vietnamese Art”: Introducing the essence of modern Vietnamese art to the world
WVR - The exhibition “Vong Dong Kinh: Modern Vietnamese Art” in Hong Kong (China) showcases 16 works dating from around 1905 to 1960, outlining the development journey of Vietnamese art through cultural exchanges and creative explorations with unique identities.
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Held from October 10 to November 21 at the DE SARTHE gallery, the exhibition “Vong Dong Kinh: Modern Vietnamese Art” (Echoes of Tonkin: Vietnamese Modern Art) gathers works by artists such as Le Pho, Vu Cao Dam, Mai Trung Thu, Nguyen Gia Tri, Pham Hau, along with Western artists who worked in Indochina like Albert Cézard, Victor Tardieu, Léa Lafugie, Alix Ayme, and Joseph Inguimberty.
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| The exhibition is held at the DE SARTHE gallery. (Source: Organizing Committee) |
From cultural exchange to unique artistic language
Through creations from various periods, the exhibition recreates the formation process of modern Vietnamese art, from initial milestones to its mature development phase.
This approach broadens the narrative, which often focuses on the Indochina School of Fine Arts and the influence of European painting, further clarifying the interaction between artistic traditions and how Vietnamese artists transformed acquired techniques into their own creative language.
Many notable works are featured in the exhibition, including Le Pho's Blue Bowl (Le Bol bleu, 1930) and the large silk painting The Enlightenment of Buddha (L'illumination de Bouddha, 1947); Joseph Inguimberty’s nearly two-meter-wide landscape painting Sa Pa (Chapa, 1942); lacquer works by Alix Ayme and Pham Hau; and Vu Cao Dam’s terracotta sculpture Head of a Young Woman (Tête de femme, circa 1939).
The exhibition concludes with Boats in Ha Long Bay (Bateaux dans la baie d'Halong, 1960) by Nguyen Gia Tri, an artist who made significant contributions to developing lacquer as an important medium in modern Vietnamese painting.
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| Mr. Pascal de Sarthe and curator Tran Dinh Thuc Doan. (Source: Organizing Committee) |
In addition to paintings, two Cham sculptures are also displayed, including a sandstone Buddha statue dating from the 9th–10th century and a Ganesha statue in the Thap Mam style from Binh Dinh, dating from the 11th–12th century.
The presence of these works adds historical depth to the exhibition, reminding us of the long-standing artistic foundation before Vietnamese art entered the modern era.
The vitality of Vietnamese silk and lacquer
According to Mr. Pascal de Sarthe, founder of the DE SARTHE gallery, Vietnamese painting is characterized by restraint, intimacy, and lyricism. The artists absorbed lessons from Paris but maintained their own sensibilities, reflected in their use of materials, composition organization, and color selection.
Silk and lacquer are prime examples of this creative process. From materials associated with traditional crafts, Vietnamese artists developed new modes of expression, integrating them into modern painting.
If silk paintings impress with their soft hues and subtle spatial handling, lacquer opens up possibilities for exploring color, surface, and depth in unique ways.
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| Artwork displayed at the exhibition. (Source: Organizing Committee) |
The exhibition is co-curated by Leah Do and Tran Dinh Thuc Doan. Jean-François Hubert, an expert with significant contributions to Vietnamese art research, provided academic support and wrote the foreword for the catalogue.
This is the second time DE SARTHE has organized a large-scale exhibition dedicated to Vietnamese art. By introducing works from various periods and combining modern painting with ancient sculpture, the exhibition helps bring Vietnamese art heritage closer to collectors and the international public, while highlighting the contributions of Vietnamese artists to the formation and development of modern art.
