The HCM City Fine Arts Museum is hosting a permanent exhibition showcasing sketches by Nguyen Gia Tri, a pioneer in the art of lacquer painting in Viet Nam, to mark the 20th anniversary of his death.

The Nhung phac thao cua hoa si Nguyen Gia Tri (Sketches of Painter Nguyen Gia Tri) exhibition features 95 preliminary sketches for his lacquer paintings.

Sixty-one of Tri's works were given to the museum by the painter's family in 1990, and 72 others were bought from his family in 2010.

Ma Thanh Cao, the museum's director, said the highlights of the exhibition were the sketches for Tri's largest lacquer painting Vuon Xuan Trung – Nam – Bac (Spring Garden in the Centre, South and North).

These sketches reflected his skillful lacquer technique, as well as his love for the country and its people, and desire for a peaceful life, Cao said.

The 2m x 5.4m painting contains six panels, each more than half a metre wide. The entire work was made from the late 1960s to 1989.

The exhibition also includes the painter's tools, brushes and clothes worn while painting, all borrowed from his family.

Tri was born in 1908 in Ha Tay (now Ha Noi) and died in 1993 in HCM City.

He studied at the Indochina College of Fine Arts (now the Ha Noi College of Fine Arts). He was best known for his mastery of lacquer painting, but was also praised for his woodcut printing and cartoons.

In 1989, the Ministry of Culture honoured Tri as one of the 10 painters who had made strong contributions to modern art in the country.

In 2012, the Government awarded the Ho Chi Minh Prize to Tri in recognition of his cultural and art achievements.

The exhibition is open to the public at 97A Pho Duc Chinh Street in District 1.

Source: VNS