Best of Both Worlds: The Road Ahead Remains Open, The Painter of Poetic Hue
Heritage Magazine, Vietnam Airlines
The path of art is vast and endless. It always urges us to work and create without rest. For painter Boi Tran, when holding a brush, a palette knife, or a pen, all can become works of art. And this garden is also a work that she cherishes. It has no boundary between surrealism and realism. And that is exactly the artistic path that she has chosen.
Boi Tran is one of the rare well-known contemporary female painters of the former imperial capital of Hue. She has had many works exhibited and introduced at prestigious art exhibitions in Asia and Europe. In particular, her paintings have been collected and exhibited by the two largest auction houses in the world, Christie’s and Sotheby’s. Boi Tran has a beautiful garden house, more than 5,000 square metres in size, located to the west of the city of Hue, next to the poetic pine forest of Thien An. For many years, this has been a familiar address for many art researchers, dignitaries, and intellectuals both domestic and international. Below is a very interesting exchange about her thoughts, aspirations, and artistic path, a “heroic woman” of the imperial land.
Yen Chi
You are one of the few well-known female painters in Hue. The fact that you built this garden house on Thien An hill, is it a change: leaving the profession of painter to move to “gardening,” or do you want to create a private creative space for yourself to continue your artistic career?
Painter Boi Tran
The path of art is vast and endless. It always urges us to work and create without rest. For me, when holding a brush, a palette knife, or a pen, all can become works of art. And this garden is also a work that I cherish. It has no boundary between surrealism and realism. And that is exactly the artistic path that I have chosen.
Yen Chi
You have spent more than 15 years since 1998 to build “Boi Tran Gallery,” which is very stylish yet very Hue. What are you most devoted to in building this garden space?
Painter Boi Tran
Fifteen years is not long enough for me to spread out my dreams. With a modest garden, I cannot paint a Hue of my memory. I can only do what I can with ancient wooden houses covered with moss, with long corridors connecting pathways, with tall trees, with green grass carpets. That much is still not enough to express a Hue full of poetry and dream that I am greedy to carry here.
But still, I have poetic moments: every morning wandering to look at fresh flowers, afternoons bathing in the fragrance of magnolia, and quiet evenings listening to the pine trees gently flowing like waves.
I suddenly feel a quiet sadness within a happiness of solitude.
Yen Chi
Boi Tran Gallery has welcomed many friends and visitors, including special guests, who have shared many interesting things with the host. Which sharing do you find most meaningful?
Painter Boi Tran
After twenty years attached to art, I have too many memories. From the first steps that inevitably had shortcomings, I was truly fortunate to have a respected teacher, older brothers and sisters who supported me with lessons of experience on the artistic path. I always remember and am grateful to them.
From that, I have had many new friends, very many, but I can proudly mention: Jean-Francois Hubert (expert in Vietnamese Art, senior Consultant to Christie’s, author of many books and articles), Philippe Damas (banker, JPMorgan, ING) Singapore, Melchior Dejouany (advertising company) Paris, Joyce Fan, ex-curator, Singapore Museum, Karine Mesdecin-Lemon, diplomat, Monaco, Director of the “Fondation de Monaco”, Paris, Pansy Ku, Christie’s Singapore and Hong Kong, Wang Zineng, Christie’s Singapore and Hong Kong, and Kenson Kwok, former chairman Asian Civilisations Museum Singapore.
They highly appreciate my collection. And they become close friends, working with me with all their heart and goodwill. They have extended my reach to the world. Thanks to that, the collected works as well as my paintings have come to the two largest auction houses in the world, Christie’s and Sotheby’s.
We have poetic conversations in this garden: beyond art work, endlessly talking about Hue, about the Hue style, about Hue people and Hue culinary culture through real stories, real people and sincere hearts. They come to Hue with respect. Over time, they have absorbed Hue culture and have loved Hue through what they have done and are doing. I am truly very happy about that.
Yen Chi
What do you think about the artistic heritage of Hue today? In your opinion, what should Hue do to preserve and promote its artistic heritage?
Painter Boi Tran
Hue’s heritage is extremely vast. Preservation, for many years we have already been preserving it. Hue still has diligent, resilient, and profound people. Hue still retains its historical values.
But I want Hue to have a strong community power, to beautify its surroundings, from houses to streets. Visitors will be very satisfied when they come to a city that is clean and civilized, sincere and warm like the nature of Hue people.
Therefore, I always dream of Hue having cultural food markets, from folk cuisine to royal cuisine. If that happens, it would relieve the city from the current situation where small messy stalls appear everywhere without aesthetic value. All vendors could gather in one place, guided to cook better, cleaner, more beautifully, and wear neat, elegant ao dai uniforms.
I also want bustling shopping streets for domestic and international visitors, because Hue has many talented artisans in tailoring and handicrafts.
I want an immediate museum worthy of Hue, where all major works and everything related to Hue culture and historical figures are displayed. There should also be spaces for traditional music, and a large room for young painters. They need collectors, domestic and international, to come, to look, and to stop before beautiful works. Their future begins from that point.
Talking about Hue is endless, but those are the things that need to be renewed to preserve Hue’s cultural heritage, all of it is art.
Yen Chi
Do you have any message for the younger generation, those who are studying, working, or pursuing art?
Painter Boi Tran
If I have the honour to give a word of advice to the younger generation, I would only say this: no matter who you are, today you are very fortunate not to have to carry guns to the battlefield like previous generations.
Therefore, we need you to strive and create in art with all your heart.
And then, the door ahead will open for you.