Inauguration of public art space at Ben Thanh Metro Station
WVR - On July 15, during the month when the city hosts various activities to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Saigon Gia Dinh City being officially honored with the name of President Ho Chi Minh, public art installations decorating Ben Thanh Metro Station were officially inaugurated, contributing to the cultural and artistic highlight of Ho Chi Minh City's modern public transportation space.
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| Inauguration of the public art space at Ben Thanh Metro Station, July 15. (Source: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City) |
With the support and approval of the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City, the Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City, and the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways, and especially the financial backing of Bao Viet Group and Bao Viet Life Corporation, artist Nguyen Thu Thuy, the creator of Hanoi Ceramic Road, and Tan Ha Noi Art Company have excellently completed six art installations decorating Ben Thanh Metro Station.
This marks the first time public art installations have been integrated into the metro stations of Ho Chi Minh City, bringing art closer to the public and spreading the image of a dynamic, modern Ho Chi Minh City while preserving its unique cultural and historical values.
Ben Thanh underground station is the largest central station of the Ho Chi Minh City Metro line. The architectural highlight is a stylized lotus-shaped skylight, 6 meters high above ground, naturally illuminating four underground levels. The space is designed to be open, inspired by the triangular roofs of Ben Thanh Market, forming a modern stylized lotus shape made from transparent tempered glass and honeycomb aluminum panels.
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| Artist Nguyen Thu Thuy (right) introduces the ceramic painting Nguyen Hue Flower Street Welcomes Spring at the event. (Source: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City) |
Artist Nguyen Thu Thuy drew inspiration from the lotus-shaped dome to design the special artwork Dong Son Ceramic Clock with 12 stylized lotus petals formed from 96 folded triangular cross-sections. The clock structure is shaped with a steel frame covered with blue-glazed ceramics on a white porcelain base. The diameter of the lotus block is 2.5 meters. The entire clock structure is 3.36 meters high (including the 86 cm high base).
On each triangular lotus petal, the female artist selected patterns of Lac birds, stilt houses, and inhabitants from the era of the Hung Kings from the Dong Son bronze drum – the oldest cultural symbol of the Vietnamese people. Around noon (from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.), sunlight pierces through the dome, creating brilliant triangular light shapes that illuminate the Toplight area, making the ceramic clock even more dazzling and magical.
Artist Nguyen Thu Thuy joyfully shared: “This can be described as a perfect combination of nature, architecture, and fine arts, between historical tradition and modern creativity. The happiest person is the creator who gets to enjoy the joy of seeing the design idea come to life and exceed expectations.”
Not only does it function as a timepiece, the Dong Son Ceramic Clock by artist Nguyen Thu Thuy has become a unique artistic highlight, contributing to defining the identity of the central station of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City.
In addition to the Dong Son Ceramic Clock placed at the center of the Toplight area of Ben Thanh Metro Station, artist Nguyen Thu Thuy also created three grand ceramic paintings (3 meters high by 7 meters wide) depicting iconic scenes of Ho Chi Minh City: Nguyen Hue Flower Street Welcomes Spring, Ho Chi Minh City Metro on a New Day, Fireworks Night Celebrating National Day on the Saigon River.
Nguyen Thu Thuy stated: “When invited to design the decoration for Ben Thanh Metro Station, I envisioned a joyful scene rich in tradition of Nguyen Hue Flower Street.”
Initially, the female artist painted an oil painting (1.4 meters x 1.8 meters) Nguyen Hue Flower Street Welcomes Spring set against the backdrop of the Flower Street with the theme “Spring of Love, Tet of Reunion” organized during the Lunar New Year of the Year of the Dragon 2024.
In the artwork, the artist depicted a dragon mascot crafted by artisans from bamboo and fan ribs, over 100 meters long, winding spectacularly along the flower street. The dragon mascot combines features of dragons from the Ly, Tran, and Nguyen dynasties with three main colors: earthy yellow, blue, and areca red.
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| The artwork Dong Son Ceramic Clock is placed at the center of the Toplight area of Ben Thanh Metro Station. (Source: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City) |
The female artist chose the pointillism technique to easily translate the painting into ceramics. Her painting captures the view from the middle of Nguyen Hue Flower Street at the intersection with Huynh Thuc Khang Street, looking towards the People's Committee building to fully capture the dragon mascot and the modern architectural buildings on both sides along with the green trees.
The vibrant spirit of the painting is embodied by groups of people enjoying the spring festival, admiring the flowers: young women in traditional ao dai, young families with children joyfully holding hands with their parents.
The vibrant and radiant atmosphere of Nguyen Hue Flower Street is characterized by the flower beds skillfully arranged from thousands of vibrant spring flower pots, transported by boats from the Mekong Delta provinces to Bach Dang Wharf, and from Da Lat and the northern flower regions converging here.
To depict the modern beauty of the Metro train amidst the dynamic heart of Ho Chi Minh City, artist Nguyen Thu Thuy chose to paint a wide scene from Vo Nguyen Giap Boulevard across the Saigon River, where one can simultaneously see the Saigon Bridge with moving vehicles and the Metro Ben Thanh Suoi Tien line bridge running parallel across the river.
On the other side of the Saigon River, the image of Tan Cang Station and Dien Bien Phu Street stands out, with Landmark 81 and the Vinhomes Tan Cang urban area on the left. Landmark 81 is shaped soaring high, inspired by the image of a traditional bamboo bundle reaching for the sky. The metro train is vividly depicted by the female artist, gracefully gliding on the tracks, conveying a message of environmentally friendly green transportation in the heart of a city that is growing stronger every day.
In the third large ceramic painting Fireworks Night Celebrating National Day on the Saigon River, the artist also depicts the shimmering high-rise buildings illuminated during the fireworks night, reflecting brilliantly on the Saigon River along with the Ba Son Bridge, brightly lit and changing to a flag red color. The artist
Thu Thuy confided: “When creating, I used a simultaneous technique to capture the grand scene of the central district 1 area. If painted according to the actual perspective, the bridge could not be seen at such an angle. The colorful lights from the fireworks, from the office towers, and the complex create a lively urban painting, reflecting the dynamic and modern rhythm of the city, as well as spreading the joyful and proud emotions of the city's residents on the meaningful National Day of the country.”
The fifth art installation is very special: artist Thu Thuy collaborated with historian Tran Huu Phuc Tien, a former journalist of Tuoi Tre newspaper, to select valuable historical documentary photos introducing the history of the land and the iconic architectural works around Ben Thanh Station, City Opera House Station, Ba Son Station, Van Thanh Station, and Tan Cang Station. The photos are placed in dignified Mosaic ceramic frames.
The sixth art installation is the series Vietnam Four Seasons of Flowers – four acrylic paintings created on four plaster columns in Ben Thanh Metro Station, each measuring 3 meters x 3 meters. The series honors the beauty of nature, culture, and the diversity of Vietnam's regions through the imagery of characteristic flowers.
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| The ceramic painting Nguyen Hue Flower Street Welcomes Spring. (Source: Department of Culture and Sports of Ho Chi Minh City) |
Speaking at the inauguration ceremony, artist Nguyen Thu Thuy expressed deep gratitude to the Management Board of Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways, the Ho Chi Minh City Urban Railways Company Limited No. 1, and the sponsors Bao Viet Group and Bao Viet Life Corporation for their support, enabling the project to be completed on schedule and achieving the highest artistic quality.
During the project's execution, the artworks received attention, encouragement, and many positive feedbacks from the public and the station staff. With bright colors, lively designs, and a strong Vietnamese identity, the art installations have contributed to giving Ben Thanh Metro Station a new look, transforming it into not only a transportation hub but also an attractive public cultural space for the city.
The inauguration of the Ben Thanh Metro Station Art Decoration Project is a practical activity to celebrate the 50th anniversary of Saigon Gia Dinh City being officially honored with the name of President Ho Chi Minh, while also realizing the policy of building and spreading cultural and artistic spaces within the metro system as directed by the People's Committee of Ho Chi Minh City.
The project not only enhances the aesthetic quality of the Ben Thanh Metro Station space – the central station of the first metro line in Ho Chi Minh City – but also demonstrates the business community's support for cultural, artistic, and community development activities. Through the language of contemporary art combined with traditional Vietnamese materials, the artworks contribute to telling the story of Ho Chi Minh City's history, culture, and development aspirations in the new era.
