VietNamNet Bridge - Artist Pham Huy Hung has fulfilled a long cherished dream of holding his second painting exhibition in the Museum of Fine Arts in HCM City, after a successful exhibition at the Viet Art Center in Hanoi.  

The present exhibition featured 52 lacquer works and oils on canvas.

Born in the north central province of Thanh Hoa, he graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 1999. He chose to pursue a style of painting that is inspired by his feelings and views on life. By experimenting with various kinds of mediums such as silk, lacquer, oil on canvas, Hung has found his own niche.

All paintings in this exhibition illustrate either his emotions or his beliefs. In some pictures entitled ‘Stormy Rain’, ‘Countryside Land’, ‘Heaven, Earth and Man’, viewers can identify the struggle of humans against disaster, as well as his philosophic ideas on the impact of mankind on nature.

In other paintings like ‘The Seat’, ‘Self Portrait’, viewers can catch his criticisms of social climbers, ill treatment of people and even a hint of sarcasm aimed at himself.

However, his most popular topic is, like many other artists, love and beauty. It could be as simple as a cloud in the sky like the series ‘Cloud I, II, III, IV, V’ or as sophisticated as feminine exquisiteness in his lacquer works. Beauty is also illustrated through his oils on canvas of normal everyday life.

There are paintings on philosophic ideas such as the series ‘Four Goddesses of Cloud, Rain, Thunder and Lightening’, ‘Trends of Operation I, II, III, IV, V’, in which Hung has excellently applied both the traditional lacquer art technique and national symbolic patterns found in Ngoc Lu drums that describe Vietnamese belief in the Higher Power, or the everlasting movement of time through 12 traditional Zodiac Animals displayed along side modern clocks.

Explaining his reasons for choosing traditional themes, especially symbols found on bronze drums as base of his works, Hung shared that he had discovered in the traditional fine arts a happiness, cheerfulness and sense of humor. Each symbol also presented a thoughtful lesson.

“The beauty of the soul and the nobility of heart always surpass sorrow, loss and misery in human beings,” added Hung.

The exhibition closed on 24 September. Part of the income from the exhibition will be contributed to building Truong Sa (Spratly) Archipelago.

Some paintings introduced at the exhibition:

VNE/SGT