Ta Quang Bao was one of the 18 recipients of the 2016 Ho Chi Minh Awards for Literature and the Arts. Bao is a recognized master of painting and sculpture.

Sculptor Ta Quang Bao was born in 1941 in Thanh Hoa province. He has served on the executive board of the Vietnamese Fine Arts Association, and as Chairman of the Art Council.

“I studied at the Hanoi Industrial Fine Arts University. After graduating, I worked at the Vietnam Fine Art Museum and then joined the army. After military discharge, I worked at the Vietnam Army Museum”, said Mr Bao.

Ta Quang Bao is one of very few sculptors who specialize in commemorative statues. His works are of great aesthetic and educational value. A soldier who fought during the American war, most of Bao’s work concerns wartime and revolution. His most famous pieces include “Lo River Victory Statue” in Phu Tho province, and “Que Son Statue” in Quang Nam province. Bao also has famous pieces on themes of homeland, family, and love.

He was the first to create a sculptural work on the theme of Vietnam’s sea and islands with “Outpost Island” and “Waiting for Husband”.

Bao said “I was sent to the army defending Truong Sa island after national reunification in 1975. Feeling the solemnity of Vietnam’s sea and islands, I started creating sculptures dealing with this topic. It took me several years to complete “Outpost Island” which won a prize in 1980”.

His “Hoang Sa” statue was created in 2014 when he was suffering from a stroke and had a paralysed arm. That was the period when China illegally moved an oil rig into Vietnamese waters. That piece won first prize in a contest on the theme of armed forces and revolution.

In 2001, Ta Quang Bao received a State Award for Literature and Art for his pieces “Vietnam-Laos friendship”, “Buon Me Thuot cemetery”, “Xuan Trach Victory”, and “Nha Trang Victory”.

The Que Son victory monument.

In 2016, Bao received the 2016 Ho Chi Minh Award for Literature and the Arts for his “Lo River Victory Statue” and “Que Son Victory Monument”.

Bao said “I fought at Que Son, where a US base was located. Many Vietnamese soldiers sacrificed their lives there. 'Que Son Victory' commemorates the courage and sacrifice of those Vietnamese soldiers. It took me 4 years to complete the Que Son monument and 6 years to complete 'Lo River Victory Statue'".

Despite his age, Bao is still dedicated to his art. His small house in a small alley in Hanoi’s Hoa Lu street is like a museum full of his sculptures.

VOV5