VietNamNet Bridge – Winning works of Dogma Prize, the first competition for self-portraits in Viet Nam will be on a display at the National Fine Arts Museum.

Face to face: Oil on canvas portrait by winner Nguyen Van Cuong.
Ha Noi-based artist Nguyen Van Cuong won first prize, worth VND100 million (roughly US$5,000) in cash. His portrait has received wide praise from all quarters, said Richard di San Marzano, one of jury members.

This striking canvas was selected, along with six additional artworks for special recognition, from over 230 initial submissions that comprised a strong field of contenders.

Cuong's portrait made an impression on the jury board, said di San Marzano, adding that the work expressed Cuong's strength as an artist.

The Dogma Prize in Self Portrait was conceived to encourage self portraiture among emerging as well as established Vietnamese artists, according to HCM City Fine Arts Museum's Ma Thanh Cao, another member of jury board.

The prize is the first of its kind in Viet Nam to endorse self-portraiture, and has become a distinct part of the art scene here, encouraging a unique form of expression in Vietnamese art, she said.

"Most of the works are beautiful and original, employing a variety of material and style. It was not easy for the judges to pick a winner and a short list of works for display at the museum," said Cao.

The short listed works and the Dogma collection was displayed at HCM City Fine Arts Museum in July.

The prize was held by Mekong Artists and sponsored by collector Dominic Scriven, who has a collection of portraits from 80 Vietnamese artists.

The earliest work from 1963 will be on display, along with mixed media, sculptural and photographic self-portraits collected by Scriven over the course of 20 years.

The 35-work collection will debut in the capital and feature artists like Ha Noi-based artists Le Thiet Cuong, Le Quang Ha and Do Quang Em.

The exhibition will run from today until September 27 at 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ha Noi.


* Vietnamese art on show in Washington


A Vietnamese contemporary fine arts exhibition has opened in Washington, DC, hosted by the Arts Club of Washington. Present at the opening ceremony were Vietnamese Ambassador to the US Nguyen Quoc Cuong.

On display are works by six Vietnamese painters: Dang Thao Ngoc, Dinh Thi Tham Poong, Phung Pham, Trinh Tuan, Vu Dinh Tuan and Vu Thu Hien, all of whom live and work in Ha Noi. The paintings were made in 2010 when Ha Noi celebrated its 1,000th anniversary, and all are drawn from a collection of over 800 contemporary works of Vietnamese fine arts of Israeli parton-of-the-arts Raquelle Azran.

The exhibition has previously toured through New York and Miami in the US, and Singapore, as well as Israel, the Netherlands, and the UK.

Azran told a Vietnam News Agency correspondent in Washington that she wished to bring to American art lovers the unique and diversified arts of Viet Nam as well as to introduce the wonderful visions and people of Viet Nam.

Azran said she loved Viet Nam very much, especially Ha Noi, which she called "one of my homes along with New York and Tel Aviv".

Vietnamese artist Trinh Tuan expressed his thanks to Azran who, he said, loves Vietnamese arts and speaks Vietnamese well. She has brought many Vietnamese artists and their works to international arts events. During the exhibition, which runs through September 24, Tuan will hold a one-week course on lacquer painting.

Tom Frank, an American living in Virginia, said that the works were impressive and "varied in style and technique". Susan Niedenfuhr, a member of the Arts Club of Washington, called them "fascinating".

VietNamNet/Viet Nam News