50 lacquer, oil and acrylic paintings are being displayed at the exhibition of artist Van Duong Thanh to welcome the lunar year of rooster.

View of Hanoi painting given to US President Barack Obama

The exhibition opened on December 18 in the presence of Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Pereric Hogberg, former Vietnamese Ambassador to Japan Nguyen Phu Binh and representatives of foreign embassies, students and art fans.

Thanh impressionistic style portrays the architecture and atmosphere of the old citadel as well as modern Hanoi. The features of Tran Temple, But Thap Pagoda and Dong Ho paintings can be seen in many of the paintings. At the exhibition, Thanh put on display both still-life paintings for Tet Holiday and paintings of Hanoi's streets.

In the still-life section, peach flower trees from Nhat Tan Village, the lily flowers, golden chrysanthemums are all featured. Meanwhile, many streets in the Old Quarter and The Huc Bridge on Hoan Kiem Lake are presented.

When Thanh was small, she often visited Ngu Xa Ward by Truc Bach Lake, famous for its bronze casting techniques. For the painting named Bronze drum and the Cranes, Thanh placed the drum and two pink crane birds in front of a flower field. Cool toned colours dominate most of the space.

In 2009, Vietnam Poor Children Welfare Foundation, HTV9, Vietnam Television and Unilever Company held an online auction of Thanh's paintings to raise money for poor children to enjoy Tet.

After being exhibited at the exhibition Vietnamese flowers in Chopin’s Land organised by the Pacific Asia Museum and the Polish Academy of Sciences, Thanh's Serenade of Chopin was then selected by the Fryderyk Chopin Museum in 2011.

Also in 2011, Thanh held an exhibition with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Hanoi, opened non-profit gallery for three years to contribute to poverty reduction programme. She gave the rights of 100 paintings to UNDP and UNICEF.

Obama's letter to Van Duong Thanh

In the past 10 years, Thanh has donated many paintings to raise fund for disadvantaged children and joined in programmes that helped build houses for poor people in Ke Sat Town started by former US President Jimmy Carter.

Currently, Thanh is holding three exhibitions in different countries. She had two exhibitions in 2012 with Hong Kong Shanghai Bank of Vietnam in Hanoi and HCM City. The Window Into Vietnam Exhibition was hosted by the EU Delegation to Vietnam for two years.

Her works and efforts have received a lot of praises and appreciations from famous figures such as US President Barack Obama. "Though we all come from different traditions and communities, I believe nations and individuals are stronger when they work together. By connecting across borders and cultures and holding firm to the ideals that unite us, we can move toward a future of greater peace and prosperity for all," Obama wrote in the letter after receiving the View of Hanoi painting.

Former Swedish Ambassador to Vietnam Camilla Mellander said Thanh had helped build a bridge to connect the countries' art scenes. Mellander said she believed Thanh was the artist of both Vietnam and Sweden, a talented artist.

According to Mellander, one of the historic moment is the Vietnam Day in Sweden in 2009 when Thanh's paintings were on display at the city hall of Stockholm with the attendance of Queen Silvia of Sweden, former Deputy Prime minister Vu Khoan and former Vice President Nguyen Thi Binh.

The exhibition opens from December 18 to January 18 on Tuesday, Saturday and Sunday. 

Dtinews