VietNamNet Bridge – "My art is to mix the old with the new things in life," says Luong Quoc Thang.

The old thing that Thang is referring to is the traditional Vietnamese art of lacquer painting, and "the new" pertains to how he brings his life experiences to bear using this art.

An exhibition featuring a collection of 21 lacquer paintings by Thang has opened in HCM City.

The 52-year-old artist completed his art studies in 1993, majoring in oil and lacquer painting at the HCM City Fine Arts College, but he says his love for lacquer began many years earlier.

This time, his collection, using vivid colours, reflects his love for rural life and people.

Paintings like Mua Tien (Fairy Dance) and Phien Cho Toan Hoa (Fair of Flowers) use both bright and dark colours to create images that are both lively and deep at the same time.

The exhibition runs until the end of this month at Gallery Tu Do, 53 Ho Tung Mau Street, District 1.

* Collections of epic poem displayed in HCM City

A collection of 86 different copies of the epic poem Truyen Kieu (The Tale of Kieu) written in several languages is on display at Nha Nam Thu Quan Gallery in HCM City.

Truyen Kieu, written by poet Nguyen Du in the Nom (Vietnamese ideographic) script in the early 19th century, is often referred to as the pinnacle of Viet Nam's literary heritage.

It tells the life, trials and tribulations of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful and talented young woman who, to save her father from prison, sells herself into marriage with a man. Not knowing that he was a pimp, she is forced into prostitution.

More than 40 copies in the collection are printed in Vietnamese with the oldest one written by Truong Vinh Ky in 1911. There are many Chinese, English, German and Korean versions of the poem.

Noteworthy is the French version of Truyen Kieu translated by Abel Des Michels and published by Ernest Leroux in 1885.

The collection also includes a book of paintings that feature Thuy Kieu by several celebrated Vietnamese artists, including Nguyen Gia Tri, To Ngoc Van and Pham Hau. The book was published in 1942.

The exhibition is being held at Nha Nam Thu Quan at 43 Ho Van Hue Street in Ward 9 in Phu Nhuan District. It will end on July 27.

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News