HCMC – Exhibition “A Miracle” by Le Van Xuong (1917-1988)
Exhibition: 21 – 23 Sep 2018, 10 am – 10 pm
Park Hyatt Saigon
2 Cong Truong Lam Sơn, Ben Nghe Ward, District 1, HCMC
From the organizers:
On the occasion of the 101th birthday of Le Van Xuong, his daughter – Le Y Lan introduces to public 101 works of her father with various materials like oil on canvas, powdered colors, soft pastel colors,… – that she collected herself. Among them, several are self-portraits, some are portraits of his loved one, and the rest is much like an invitation to the exhibition visitors to travel in time back to Hanoi in the late 40s and the 50s. Here, you are surrounded by the age-old streets and the monuments of the city, and then immerse yourself amidst the countryside scenery.
These paintings create a tranquil atmosphere much different from the hustle and bustle of Hanoi nowadays. This is the Hanoi of Thach Lam, of Nguyen Tuan…, inviting in the visitors so they would find something familiar, like a vein running deep with all Hanoian quintessence, it just needs a moment of emotion for every heart of sympathy to sing in unison.
But above all, that is a miracle work of an artist whose soul belong to his most beloved place. Because of that, the name of this exhibition is taken from the title of a poem by his wife, poet Tran Dieu Tien: “Dieu ky dieu” (Miracle).
Program
Gala 21 Sep: 10 am – 10 pm
Program: Opening ceremony; music and performance acts
Gala 22 Sep: 10 am – 10 pm
Program: Discussion on the life and career of Le Van Xuong; meet & greet with an international school
Gala 23 Sep: 10 am – 10 pm
Program: Music performances; auction; closing ceremony.
Free entry
Le Van Xuong (1917-1988)
Le Van Xuong started studying art since a very young age, in 1929 or 1930, with a tutor his family arranged. In 1937, when Nhan Chi (1920 – 1967) from Trung Hung village (Go Vap district, Gia Dinh) came to Hanoi to study at the École Supérieure des Beaux Arts de l’Indochine, class of 1937 – 1942. He and Le Van Xuong got along so well and quickly became friends, and so Le Van Xuong asked his friend to become his tutor. Throughout his life, according to his family’s estimation, and not counting gift paintings, Le Van Xuong made around 1.000 paintings and 100 sculptures.
In 1941, Le Van Xuong had his first solo exhibition in Sai Gon. Right at his event, some of his paintings are sold. In 1949, he opened another solo exhibition in his own gallery in Hanoi. In 1951, solo exhibition in Da Lat. Most notably, at 4 pm on 28 Apr 1953, Le Van Xuong had his solo exhibition named “Hanoi 36 Streets” at Hanoi Opera House. The exhibition drew the attention of politicians and officials, business people and art enthusiasts.
See some of his works below:
