{"id":5677,"date":"2019-11-02T15:44:44","date_gmt":"2019-11-02T15:44:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/?p=5677"},"modified":"2026-04-03T07:16:40","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T07:16:40","slug":"what-can-be-known-of-a-life-truong-be-the-absolute-and-a-recognition-of-boi-tran","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/what-can-be-known-of-a-life-truong-be-the-absolute-and-a-recognition-of-boi-tran\/","title":{"rendered":"Ta Bi\u1ebft G\u00ec V\u1ec1 M\u1ed9t \u0110\u1eddi Ng\u01b0\u1eddi? Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9, Tuy\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ed1i, v\u00e0 M\u1ed9t S\u1ef1 Ghi Nh\u1eadn D\u00e0nh Cho B\u1ed9i Tr\u00e2n"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\t\t\tTa Bi\u1ebft G\u00ec V\u1ec1 M\u1ed9t \u0110\u1eddi Ng\u01b0\u1eddi? Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9, Tuy\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ed1i, v\u00e0 M\u1ed9t S\u1ef1 Ghi Nh\u1eadn D\u00e0nh Cho B\u1ed9i Tr\u00e2n\t<\/h2>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Truong Be (Vietnam, 1942-2020)<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t ngh\u1ec7 s\u0129 l\u1edbn v\u00ec anh l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t con ng\u01b0\u1eddi v\u1ed1n l\u00e0 hi\u1ec7n th\u00e2n c\u1ee7a l\u1ecbch s\u1eed \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc m\u00ecnh d\u00f9 anh kh\u00f4ng mu\u1ed1n th\u1ebf. \u0110\u1eb1ng sau n\u1ee5 c\u01b0\u1eddi th\u1eb3ng th\u1eafn v\u00e0 kh\u1ea3 \u00e1i c\u1ee7a anh, v\u01b0\u1ee3t qua d\u00e1ng \u0111i b\u1eb7m s\u1ecb \u1ea5y, l\u00e0 c\u1ea3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1 t\u00ednh m\u1ea1nh m\u1ebd t\u1ecfa ra. \u0110\u1ed1i v\u1edbi m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 ng\u01b0\u1eddi, n\u00e9t v\u1eefng ch\u00e3i ngo\u1ea1i h\u00ecnh \u1ea5y c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1i g\u00ec nh\u01b0 l\u00e0 tr\u1ea5n \u00e1p.<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\"Vu\n\t\t
Vu Giang Huong, Painter, General Secretary, Vietnam Fine Arts Association (1984-1989); Tran Khanh Chuong, Painter, President, Vietnam Fine Arts Association (1999-2019); Boi Tran; Hoang Phu Ngoc Tuong, Author and Truong Be, Painter, President, Hue University of Fine Arts (1996-2002), Hue, Vietnam, 1995.<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 (1942\u20132020) c\u00f9ng c\u00e1c gi\u1ea3ng vi\u00ean Tr\u01b0\u1eddng \u0110\u1ea1i h\u1ecdc M\u1ef9 thu\u1eadt Hu\u1ebf trong d\u1ecbp Khai m\u1ea1c Ph\u00f2ng Tranh B\u1ed9i Tr\u00e2n c\u1ee7a h\u1ecda s\u0129 B\u1ed9i Tr\u00e2n t\u1ea1i Kh\u00e1ch s\u1ea1n Saigon Morin, Hu\u1ebf, n\u0103m 1998.<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Duong Trung Quoc – Vietnamese Historian; Tran Khanh Chuong – President, Vietnam Fine Arts Association (1999-2019), Truong Be – Painter, President, Hue University of Fine Arts (1996-2002); Boi Tran and Duong Tuong – Translator, Art Critic, Author on the special occasion of Boi Tran’s solo exhibition “I and The Call From My Within” at Minh Chau Art Gallery, Hanoi, Vietnam, 2002.<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Boi\n\t\t
Boi Tran holding Truong Be and Doctor Tich Y at Boi Tran’s Solo Exhibition: The Watchful Dream at Boi Tran Garden, 26 October 2017<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\tWhat can be known of a person, of a life? The question, once asked, already withdraws from any answer. What we know, perhaps, is only what we have always known of life itself, which is to say, almost nothing. And yet, the artist offers something else, not knowledge, but a way of seeing. Not an explanation, but a position from which the world may be held, if only for a moment.\nIt is within this condition that Truong Be must be approached.\nHe does not narrate history, nor does he seek to represent it. And still, history is present in him, not as subject, but as substance. It resides in the density of his surfaces, in the tension of his forms, in a language that does not describe the world, but absorbs it.\nBehind a candid smile and a posture that some have read as austere, there emerges a character of unusual force. Not asserted, but evident. Not constructed, but lived. For some, this solidity may appear almost as a form of resistance. Yet it is precisely this condition that anchors his work.\nIn lacquer, Truong Be reaches a point that has often been placed alongside Nguyen Gia Tri, not through imitation, but through equivalence. A language carried to its limit, where image begins to dissolve into something more elusive.\nWhat he proposes is not a painting that explains, but a painting that demands. A language without words, yet filled with resonance. A vision without image, yet saturated with colour.\nHis work does not seek to reconstruct the world. It does not stabilise it. Instead, it takes upon itself the instability of existence, its impermanence, its refusal to remain fixed. What might have been lament becomes, in his hands, something closer to affirmation. Not resolution, but transformation.\n\tThis movement is not without paradox. The more his work reaches toward the absolute, the more it returns to restraint. The more it expands outward, the more it gathers inward. It is the position of a solitary man, but not an isolated one, a mind that has learned to stand within its own intensity.\nIt is within this condition, and only within it, that his gesture toward Boi Tran can be understood.\nTruong Be did not write to elevate. He did not write to define. He wrote to recognise.\nHis handwritten notes, simple in form, direct in address, carry no rhetoric. “Gift to Artist Boi Tran.” “Gift to Artist Boi Tran and family.” There is no elaboration, no interpretation, no attempt to position.\nAnd yet, precisely in this absence, something exact is established.\nA recognition that does not depend on comparison.
A recognition that does not require justification.\nBoi Tran does not appear here as a subject of admiration, nor as a figure to be explained. She appears as a fellow painter, one whose presence is already understood within the same field of experience.\nIf Truong Be dismantles the structure of the world in order to bear it, Boi Tran sustains a continuity within it, not by opposing its instability, but by holding a space in which art may remain, not as object alone, but as lived condition.\nAt Boi Tran Art Gallery, and later at Boi Tran Garden, this condition becomes visible. Art is not separated from life. It is not elevated beyond reach. It is held, quietly, within a framework where making, preserving, and inhabiting coexist.\nIn this sense, the gesture of Truong Be is not an isolated act. It is part of a larger alignment, between two practices that do not mirror one another, yet recognise each other without hesitation.\nA recognition that does not expand into discourse.
B\u1edfi n\u00f3 \u0111\u00e3 tr\u1ecdn v\u1eb9n.\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Truong Be (Vietnam, 1942-2020), The Oriental Rhythm, 2013, lacquer on panel. Boi Tran Garden Collection.<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Truong Be (Vietnam, 1942-2020), Origin (Kh\u1edfi Ngu\u1ed3n), lacquer on panel, 76 x 92 cm . Boi Tran Garden Collection.<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Truong Be (1942-2020), Dans le Quang Tri (In Quang Tri), c. 2006-2009, lacquer on panel, 135 x 225 cm. (53 1\/8 x 88 5\/8 in.)<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n
\n\t\t\t\t\"Truong\n\t\t
Truong Be (Vietnam, 1942-2020), The Oriental Rhythm (Nh\u1ecbp \u0110i\u1ec7u Ph\u01b0\u01a1ng \u0110\u00f4ng), 2005, oil on canvas. 80 \u00d7 80 cm (31 1\/2 \u00d7 31 1\/2 in.).<\/figcaption>\n\t<\/figure>\n\t

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9: Truy T\u00ecm Tuy\u1ec7t \u0110\u1ed1i<\/p>\n\tTa bi\u1ebft \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c g\u00ec v\u1ec1 m\u1ed9t con ng\u01b0\u1eddi? V\u1ec1 \u0111\u1eddi c\u1ee7a n\u00f3 ch\u0103ng?
\nIt is simply what you find out about the world: nothing. The artist, however, affords us (at our own risk and peril) an interpretation of the world, hence a look at himself (“himself” in relation to the world; “himself” as an artist).\n

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t ngh\u1ec7 s\u0129 l\u1edbn v\u00ec anh l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t con ng\u01b0\u1eddi v\u1ed1n l\u00e0 hi\u1ec7n th\u00e2n c\u1ee7a l\u1ecbch s\u1eed \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc m\u00ecnh d\u00f9 anh kh\u00f4ng mu\u1ed1n th\u1ebf. \u0110\u1eb1ng sau n\u1ee5 c\u01b0\u1eddi th\u1eb3ng th\u1eafn v\u00e0 kh\u1ea3 \u00e1i c\u1ee7a anh, v\u01b0\u1ee3t qua d\u00e1ng \u0111i b\u1eb7m s\u1ecb \u1ea5y, l\u00e0 c\u1ea3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1 t\u00ednh m\u1ea1nh m\u1ebd t\u1ecfa ra. \u0110\u1ed1i v\u1edbi m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 ng\u01b0\u1eddi, n\u00e9t v\u1eefng ch\u00e3i ngo\u1ea1i h\u00ecnh \u1ea5y c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1i g\u00ec nh\u01b0 l\u00e0 tr\u1ea5n \u00e1p.<\/p>\n

For me personally, it is sine qua non for bringing to light a genuine talent that I find amidst Vietnamese painting production when it was at its peak. In dealing with lacquer, Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 is\u00a0Nguyen Gia Tri’s\u00a0equal.<\/p>\n

S\u1ed1ng trong ngh\u1ec7 thu\u1eadt c\u1ee7a m\u00ecnh, anh l\u00e0 con ng\u01b0\u1eddi di\u1ec5m ph\u00fac v\u00e0 h\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c nh\u01b0 v\u1eady. H\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n l\u00e0m b\u1eb1ng ch\u1ee9ng cho di\u1ec5m ph\u00fac v\u00e0 di\u1ec5m ph\u00fac \u0111\u0103ng quang cho h\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n. Ch\u00ednh nh\u1eefng ai c\u00f3 bi\u1ebft \u0111\u1ebfn \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc Vi\u1ec7t Nam s\u1ebd t\u00ecm th\u1ea5y n\u01a1i Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 c\u00e1i g\u1ed1c t\u00edch c\u1ee7a ni\u1ec1m h\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n \u1ea5y v\u1ed1n nhu\u1ed1m v\u1ebb th\u00f4 c\u1ee9ng nh\u01b0 th\u1ebf n\u00e0o \u0111\u00f3 m\u00e0 ta t\u1eebng b\u1eaft g\u1eb7p \u1edf ng\u01b0\u1eddi d\u00e2n Qu\u1ea3ng Tr\u1ecb (n\u01a1i anh sinh ra) nh\u01b0ng v\u1eeba l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t t\u00ecnh tr\u1ea1ng di\u1ec5m ph\u00fac \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3m m\u1ed9t n\u1ed7i u s\u1ea7u n\u00e0o \u0111\u00f3 v\u1ed1n l\u00e0m n\u00ean t\u00ednh c\u00e1ch con ng\u01b0\u1eddi Hu\u1ebf (l\u00e0 n\u01a1i anh v\u1ebd v\u00e0 d\u1ea1y h\u1ecdc t\u1eeb l\u00e2u nay).<\/p>\n

H\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n, u s\u1ea7u, l\u00e0 nh\u1eefng \u00fd ni\u1ec7m m\u00e0 \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc Vi\u1ec7t Nam gi\u1eef l\u1ea5y cho m\u00ecnh trong su\u1ed1t chi\u1ec1u d\u00e0i l\u1ecbch s\u1eed. N\u00e9t h\u00e3nh di\u1ec7n c\u1ee7a Vi\u1ec7t Nam kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ea3i l\u00e0 t\u00ednh cao ng\u1ea1o m\u00e0 l\u00e0 s\u1ef1 c\u1ea7m ch\u1eafc m\u1ed9t \u0111\u1ecbnh m\u1ec7nh; c\u00e1i u s\u1ea7u c\u1ee7a Vi\u1ec7t Nam kh\u00f4ng ph\u1ea3i l\u00e0 n\u01b0\u1edbc m\u1eaft m\u00e0 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1i nh\u00ecn, \u0111\u00f4i khi r\u01b0ng r\u01b0ng ch\u00ecm ng\u1eadp v\u00e0o m\u1ed9t n\u1ee5 c\u01b0\u1eddi r\u1ed9ng m\u1edf m\u00e0 nh\u1eb9 nh\u00e0ng c\u1ed1 n\u00e9n.<\/p>\n

Who is more Vietnamese than Truong Be? Nobody is. Some others are but differently. In this aspect, to be sure. He is second to none. To contemplate one of Truong Be’s works is to start out on a poetic search for the perfect technique. Each of his works deserves close scrutiny and calls for an adherence to his internal world.<\/p>\n

Anh \u0111\u00f2i h\u1ecfi tuy\u1ec7t \u0111\u1ed1i v\u00e0 t\u01b0 th\u1ebf \u0111\u00f3 khi\u1ebfn ta t\u01b0\u1edfng t\u1edbi \u1ef6 Lan, v\u1ecb v\u01b0\u01a1ng h\u1eadu qua \u0111\u1eddi n\u0103m 1117:<\/p>\nC\u00d3 KH\u00d4NG
\nC\u00f3 c\u0169ng l\u00e0 kh\u00f4ng, kh\u00f4ng c\u0169ng l\u00e0 c\u00f3
\nKh\u00f4ng c\u0169ng l\u00e0 c\u00f3, c\u00f3 c\u0169ng l\u00e0 kh\u00f4ng
\nC\u00f3 ch\u1eb3ng t\u1ef1a v\u00e0o g\u00ec
\nCh\u1ec9 nh\u01b0 th\u1ebf m\u1edbi nh\u1eadp \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c v\u00e0o Tuy\u1ec7t \u0111\u1ed1i.\n

Chiefly when he expresses himself by means of lacquer (where painting on silk is concerned, lacquer is one of the significant contributions of Vietnamese painting art to the world’s one),\u00a0Truong Be puts forth a language which is non-verbal yet replete with sounds, a vision which is void of images yet resplendent with colours.<\/p>\n

Truong Be has set his mind on dismantling the world, not to build it anew but to bolster it up. He illustrates this “impermanence of the world” mentioned by Nguyen Gia Thieu (1741-1798):<\/p>\n\u0110\u00f2i nh\u1eefng k\u1ebb thi\u00ean ma b\u00e1ch chi\u1ebft
\nH\u00ecnh th\u00ec c\u00f2n, b\u1ee5ng ch\u1ebft \u0111\u00f2i nau!
\nTh\u1ea3o n\u00e0o khi m\u1edbi ch\u00f4n nhau
\n\u0110\u00e3 mang ti\u1ebfng kh\u00f3c b\u01b0ng \u0111\u1ea7u m\u00e0 ra.\n

Anh \u0111\u00e3 bi\u1ebft v\u01b0\u1ee3t qua (ho\u1eb7c l\u00e0m l\u1ec7ch d\u1ea1ng) kh\u00fac ng\u00e2m \u0111\u1ec3 chuy\u1ec3n h\u00f3a th\u00e0nh t\u1ee5ng ca. T\u1eeb c\u00e1c vong h\u1ed3n qu\u00e1 kh\u1ee9 anh \u0111\u00e3 bi\u1ebft c\u00e1ch l\u00e0m sinh s\u00f4i m\u00e0u v\u00e0ng cam l\u1eabn m\u00e0u v\u00e0ng kim, trong \u0111\u00f3 nh\u1eefng \u0111\u01b0\u1eddng n\u00e9t v\u1ed1n mu\u1ed1n tr\u00f4i v\u1ec1 v\u00f4 c\u1ef1c v\u1eabn kh\u00f4ng th\u1ec3 n\u00e0o b\u1ea5t t\u1eed. Anh \u00fd th\u1ee9c \u0111\u01b0\u1ee3c c\u00e1i ngh\u1ecbch l\u00fd \u1ea5y n\u00ean chi c\u00e0ng ng\u00e0y anh c\u00e0ng thi\u00ean v\u1ec1 nh\u1eefng kh\u1ed5 tranh th\u1eadt l\u1edbn. Ch\u00fang ta ch\u1ee9ng ki\u1ebfn t\u1ea1i n\u01a1i \u0111\u00e2y cu\u1ed9c truy t\u00ecm c\u1ee7a m\u1ed9t con ng\u01b0\u1eddi \u0111\u01a1n \u0111\u1ed9c nh\u01b0ng kh\u00f4ng l\u1ebb loi, c\u1ee7a m\u1ed9t k\u1ebb \u0111am m\u00ea bi\u1ebft giao h\u1ea3o v\u1edbi \u0111am m\u00ea.<\/p>\n

Trong cu\u1ed9c truy t\u00ecm \u0111\u1ea7y th\u00e0nh t\u1ef1u \u1ea5y l\u1ebd n\u00e0o ta kh\u00f4ng ngh\u0129 t\u1edbi Nguy\u1ec5n Tr\u00e3i (1380-1442):<\/p>\nNG\u00d4N CH\u00cd
\nDoes it really matter if a nobleman is clad in slovenly clothes beneath his dignity? All that we have to do is follow the path of the sages of Yore
\nWith a cup of tea perfumed with the scent\u00a0 of apricot flowers; I wake up at night to gaze at the moon
\nDuring springtime I read and punctuate my books; Careers involving honour bring nothing but anguish and humiliation
\nIn a foolish secluded life there lies liberty; Of my peers a great many are gone; Like paulownia leaves scattered when autumn comes to a close.\n

The pride of Hanoi, the strength of Quang Tri, the nobility of Hue and the sweetness of Budapest, all those stages and landmarks have successfully come to make a road a highway.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\nJean Francois Hubert
\nChuy\u00ean gia cao c\u1ea5p, M\u1ef9 thu\u1eadt Vi\u1ec7t Nam, Christie\u2019s\n

\n\t\t\tB\u1ea1n c\u00f3 th\u1ec3 quan t\u00e2m\t<\/h2>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Tr\u01b0\u01a1ng B\u00e9 l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t ngh\u1ec7 s\u0129 l\u1edbn v\u00ec anh l\u00e0 m\u1ed9t con ng\u01b0\u1eddi v\u1ed1n l\u00e0 hi\u1ec7n th\u00e2n c\u1ee7a l\u1ecbch s\u1eed \u0111\u1ea5t n\u01b0\u1edbc m\u00ecnh d\u00f9 anh kh\u00f4ng mu\u1ed1n th\u1ebf. \u0110\u1eb1ng sau n\u1ee5 c\u01b0\u1eddi th\u1eb3ng th\u1eafn v\u00e0 kh\u1ea3 \u00e1i c\u1ee7a anh, v\u01b0\u1ee3t qua d\u00e1ng \u0111i b\u1eb7m s\u1ecb \u1ea5y, l\u00e0 c\u1ea3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1 t\u00ednh m\u1ea1nh m\u1ebd t\u1ecfa ra. \u0110\u1ed1i v\u1edbi m\u1ed9t s\u1ed1 ng\u01b0\u1eddi, n\u00e9t v\u1eefng ch\u00e3i ngo\u1ea1i h\u00ecnh \u1ea5y c\u00f3 m\u1ed9t c\u00e1i g\u00ec nh\u01b0 l\u00e0 tr\u1ea5n \u00e1p.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":5678,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[23,9],"tags":[90,91,17,105,106,104,89],"class_list":["post-5677","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-art","category-stories","tag-boi-tran","tag-boi-tran-art-gallery","tag-boi-tran-garden","tag-hoang-phu-ngoc-tuong","tag-tran-khanh-chuong","tag-truong-be","tag-vinh-phoi"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5677"}],"version-history":[{"count":36,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":8060,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5677\/revisions\/8060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5678"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5677"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5677"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/boitran.com\/vi\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5677"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}