VietNamNet
Bridge - Colour has the strongest influence on emotion, according to artist Van
Duong Thanh. Her art is not about the tangible but about the abstract. But
although the universe is like a fantasy, it does evoke very strong images and
feelings.

Her collection
of 40 abstract paintings on display at the Sai Gon Rex Hotel in HCM City
reflect her worldview.

“My
strongest inspiration is the Sarus crane and other animals in the Mekong
Delta,” Thanh says.

“I
love the green of the Delta’s submerged fields.”

Me Con
Tren Canh Dong (Mother and Children in the Field), Bay Seu Duoi Anh Trang
(Cranes in the Moonlight), Nhung Nguoi Dan Ba Ganh Gao (Women Carrying Rice on
a Shoulder Pole), all on display at A Sense of Homeland, are testimony to this.

The
overwhelming theme of Thanh’s paintings is joy, whether it is an image of a
winter’s evening or a rainy afternoon.

For her,
dark colours are just a “low musical note in a vivid concert”.

“Art
is a sublimated minute of a great accumulation.”

Considered
one of Asia’s most talented female artists, Van Duong Thanh grew up in Ha Noi
where she studied for 12 years at the Fine Arts College and the Academy of Fine
Arts.

She was a
researcher at the Institute of Culture in the capital from 1981 to 1987, and
now divides her time between Sweden, where she teaches art, and Ha Noi.

The
Vietnamese National Museum of Fine Arts in the capital added Thanh’s works to
its collection when she was just 21.

Since
then, many of her works have gone on permanent display at national museums in
several other countries including Thailand, Singapore, Spain, and Sweden.

Thanh was
born in Phu Yen Province and during the war often had to evacuate to the
countryside to hide in tunnels or finding shelter with peasants.

It was
during this period that she developed an empathy for the rural way of life and
the country’s traditions. After the war ended, she completed her formal
education at Ha Noi’s Fine Arts College in 1980.

She has
held many exhibitions in Viet Nam, France, Thailand, Singapore, Hong Kong,
Germany, the US, and Sweden.

A Sense
of Homeland will be on display until June 30 next year.

Source:
VNS