Curated by Boi Tran Art Gallery with a Preamble by Nguyen Trung: A Poem in Form and Colour, Hue, 1996, or the First Resonance of the Gallery
Curated by Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1996, this early exhibition marked the emergence of a space rooted in a simple devotion to art and supported by artists across Hue, Hanoi, and Saigon. In his preamble, Nguyen Trung described it as “a poem in form and colour,” a first resonance of a space that would come to connect generations of Vietnamese artists.
Boi Tran Art Gallery has just been set up since early this year, and fortunately, our activities are being supported by artists from three big cities: Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi and our hometown Hue. The starting motivation initiated from just the love of art although we have been lacking experience running an art gallery, for the market of paintings. We, however, wish to answer your sincere assistance with all our heart, and our love of art by learning more so as to enrich the Boi Tran Art Gallery, the only one in Hue Citv. In the painting exhibition by the artists from Hue, mostly were young, that was held at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Art Association we honourably had hearty support from the Association members. By the way, we would like to relay our gratitude for their kind deeds to us. We also express our deep thankfulness to Viet Ha Company, Oriole Printing Enterprise which sponsored and assisted in organizing the exhibition. We are sending our appreciation to the Hue homesteaders who had given us worthy advice. There must be mistakes during this exhibition which was held for the first time and especially far away from our homestead, so we hope for your kind forgiveness. Your generosity and assistance mean our great success.Boi Tran Art Gallery has just been set up since early this year, and fortunately, our activities are being supported by artists from three big cities: Ho Chi Minh, Ha Noi and our hometown Hue. The starting motivation initiated from just the love of art although we have been lacking experience running an art gallery, for the market of paintings. We, however, wish to answer your sincere assistance with all our heart, and our love of art by learning more so as to enrich the Boi Tran Art Gallery, the only one in Hue Citv. In the painting exhibition by the artists from Hue, mostly were young, that was held at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Art Association we honourably had hearty support from the Association members. By the way, we would like to relay our gratitude for their kind deeds to us. We also express our deep thankfulness to Viet Ha Company, Oriole Printing Enterprise which sponsored and assisted in organizing the exhibition. We are sending our appreciation to the Hue homesteaders who had given us worthy advice. There must be mistakes during this exhibition which was held for the first time and especially far away from our homestead, so we hope for your kind forgiveness. Your generosity and assistance mean our great success.
Written in 1996 by Nguyen Trung, this preamble accompanied one of the earliest exhibitions curated by Boi Tran Art Gallery in Ho Chi Minh City. At the time, the gallery had only just been established. Its position was not yet defined, its activities still emerging through personal networks and the support of artists across Hue, Hanoi, and Ho Chi Minh City.
Within this context, the text assumes a significance beyond its immediate function. It does not merely introduce an exhibition. It records a moment.
Nguyen Trung situates Hue as a cultural and artistic cradle, while at the same time identifying a generation of artists working quietly, often under material constraint, yet with persistence and conviction. The exhibition, as he describes it, is not constructed as a unified statement, but as a gathering: an articulation of presence through diverse practices.
His concluding remark, that the exhibition forms “a poem of Hue in form and colour,” offers not only a description, but a framework through which the exhibition may be understood.
Today, this preamble may be read as a document of origin.
Preserved within Boi Tran Garden, it reflects an early recognition of a space that would come to sustain connections between artists across generations, and to position itself within the broader landscape of Vietnamese art.
Hue is a place name. Hue is a scenic site. Hue has been the Imperial Capital and is now a cultural heritage of humanity. However, above all, Hue is one of the important cradles of poetry and art of the country, having produced and nurtured great poetic souls and great artists. In the field of painting, viewers surely have not forgotten a talented Nguyen Khoa Toan, a serious Ton That Dao, a magnificent Pham Dang Tri with cloisonné-like colours… At present, the artistic ranks of Hue are increasingly numerous and more diverse.
The painting exhibition of artists from Hue organized this time by Boi Tran Art Gallery in Ho Chi Minh City introduces to us a sketch of the overall panorama of Hue art, introducing to us those authors who have quietly worked in Hue, those artists who have pursued their artistic path under conditions where material circumstances are not easy.
We will see the works of Truong Be and Vinh Phoi with modern styles, who are also those responsible for training the younger generation over many years. Do Ky Hoang is the same and is one who firmly masters the technique of traditional lacquer. We will also see the familiar Duong Dinh Sang, always searching, distilling the essence of the world, constantly transforming while still preserving his own identity; what he creates are poems that are powerful and lyrical. The paintings of Hong Trong My are also full of lyricism but with a gentle, quiet handling. Nguyen Duy Linh is also a painter with strong individuality, with expanded space, composing his poetry through labyrinths of white and black; La Quy Long refines the forms of a world broken in dream; Phan Hai Bang expresses aspiration through symbols and the colours of the Highlands; Ha Van Chuoc is gentle in dreams with kites, moon and town; the paintings of Phan Thanh Binh are a harmony of national colours; Le Huu Nguyen opens dreams through grey tones and stillness. Cong Huyen Ton Nu Tuyet Mai is the only female artist in this exhibition. Her paintings possess a solid structure and strong brushstrokes, rarely seen in a woman.
In this gallery, we also pay attention to two particular authors, Trinh Cong Son and Truong Thin. Surely all of us are familiar with the name of the musician Trinh Cong Son and Truong Thin, the doctor with many explorations in the synthesis of Eastern and Western medicine. These two men from Hue, in their pride and love for their homeland, have contributed works to the gallery, each in a different manner: Trinh Cong Son with warm and passionate colours, Truong Thin with a romantic view of flowers and the people of Hue.
It can be said — in one sentence — about the exhibition that Boi Tran Art Gallery brings from Hue to us, that it is a poem of Hue in form and colour, a poem formed by the talent of Hue.
Nguyen Trung