Prologue by Buu Y on the Grand Opening of Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1995

Prologue by Buu Y on the Grand Opening of Boi Tran Art Gallery in 1995


Buu Y — Professor, the great Francophile of the former Imperial capital of Hue

Once no art exhibitions have been organized with their actual sense; there would not have been any complete, conventional conformality to the land and her history.


Boi Tran Garden (formerly Boi Tran Art Gallery or Boi Tran Gallery), one of the pioneering privately owned art galleries in Vietnam and the very first and only one in the onetime Imperial city of Hue is proud to be an exquisite international compound for art, antiques, later the Hue-era culinary culture which gave Hue its reputation as a food capital, continues today and traditional architecture blended with French Indochina influences.

In 1995, Boi Tran Garden officially held a grand opening and the very first art exhibition of Vietnamese contemporary artists, inclusive of Nguyen Trung, Hoang Dang Nhuan, Trinh Cong Son, Tran Van Thao, Do Hoang Tuong, Nguyen Tan Cuong, Hong Viet Dung, Do Quang Em, Dang Xuan Hoa, Ho Huu Thu, Truong Be, Vinh Phoi, Buu Chi, Dinh Cuong, Tran Luu Hau,… in Hue. The exhibition prologue was written by Professor Buu Y, its epilogue by Trinh Cong Son and the catalogue front page designed by Buu Chi.

Boi Tran Art Gallery Catalogue Front Page by Buu Chi
Artworks displayed at Boi Tran Art Gallery

Prologue

Lời ngõ

If there had not been any art exhibition, the artists would have missed something in connection with and on their own path, of which and what they have not been assured of themselves. Then, other clients and fans of art, who have come from parts of the world, would find somewhere for admiration and satisfaction; also the art partners would want to get in and into the colourful wings, from far away or back to this mossy green of recollection.

Chừng nào thành phố Huế chưa có một phòng tranh chừng ấy không riêng các hoạ sĩ cảm thấy thiếu một cái gì như thể nối dài đường đi của mình, mà luôn bao nhiêu người khác cũng cảm thấy chưa yên tâm. Và những người khác này đây bao gồm khách đến từ đủ hướng chân trời, cùng những người tại chỗ lắm lúc cần một chốn dừng chân ý vị, và những kẻ đồng điệu muốn nương đôi cánh của màu sắc bay một thoáng xa hoặc bay lùi lại vào một góc rêu phong của ký ức.

Prologue written by Professor Buu Y on the special occasion of Boi Tran Art Gallery Grand Opening at Saigon Morin Hotel in 1995

At different times, several art galleries have been born but not actually fulfilled and expected en masse.
How ungrateful is it?

Nhiều phòng tranh đã ra đời tại đây trong các thời kỳ khác nhau nhưng chưa thực sự có một phòng tranh giao hưởng đáp lòng mong đợi của mọi miền.
Lẽ nào ta phụ?

Art painting exhibition is not as luxurious as what has been thought of by others. Typically it is a cultural approach, a model of flowery land, of the artful whispering in the future. Should it not have been a location for spiritual cultural rendez-vous for all ages, it would at least be a place for the ones who come to see it with silent, admiring contemplation.
How isn’t it grateful?

Phòng tranh không còn là một món xa hoa. Nó là phòng đợi ở ngưỡng cửa văn hoá, là sa bàn của hương hoa một vùng đất, nơi thầm thì nhỏ của những gì sẽ được giới thiệu lớn tiếng về sau. Phòng tranh nếu không thành một tụ điểm tinh thần, một điểm hẹn của tâm tình và tuổi tác, ít ra là một nơi bước chân tạm thời chậm lại và nhẹ lại để lắng nghe, nhìn ngắm và cảm ứng.
Lẽ nào ta phụ?

Representing the land of cultural, art tradition and tourism and various schools, Hue has given birth to numerous talents with her famous mountain and river, and said to itself “stand up”, and gotten confidence from everybody.

Huế là đất của văn hoá, nghệ thuật, du lịch, là nơi của trường trại, mà cũng là nơi của tài tử được núi sông hun đúc. Thiên chức của nó là “đứng lên” và được mọi người tin cậy.

Once no art exhibitions have been organized with their actual sense, there would not have been any complete, conventional conformality to the land and her history.

Chừng nào thành phố Huế chưa có một phòng trưng bày nghệ thuật đúng nghĩa, chừng ấy tất cả ít nhiều nghĩ tới miền đất này đều cảm thấy con người vẫn chưa đầy đủ lễ bộ đối với thiên nhiên và lịch sử.

Bửu Ý

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