The buffalo, the zodiac sign for the 2021 Lunar New Year, is the theme of a painting exhibition which is taking place at the Da Nang Fine Arts museum located at 78 Le Duan until 31 January.

The exhibition presents a highly impressive collection of 30 oil and acrylic pictures created by painter Ngo Thanh Hung, a lecturer at the Da Nang University of Architecture, and member of the municipal Fine Arts Association.

These pieces of works showcase a high level of the seasoned artist’ emotion, creativity, artistic experience, and inspiration, depicting the buffalo in the Vietnamese culture as an industrious, smart, strong, and brave animal.

The buffalo is the second animal sign in the 12-year cycle of the Vietnamese zodiac, and it is also a symbol of the wet rice civilisation in Southeast Asia, including Vietnam.

Artist Hung said that the paintings on display at the exhibition were inspired by the decades-old Do Son Buffalo Fighting Festival, an annual spectacle, held on the ninth day of the eighth month in the lunar calendar. This is one of the major cultural festivals of Hai Phong and the Northern Delta at large.

During this festival, thousands of people in Hai Phong City usually gather around a giant ring to cheer water buffalo as they are made to fight one another until a single contender is crowned the year’s champion.

Looking at these displayed paintings, viewers will be impressed by the powerful images of the sharp, flexible horns, the fiery eyes, the strong muscles of the buffalo that seem to emit majestic energy, said artist Hung.

In the buildup to the upcoming Tet (the Vietnamese Lunar New Year) festival, the exhibition helps the general public learn more about the role of the buffalo in the Vietnamese culture, and extend wishes to everyone on safe, prosperous and happy new year.

By Danang.gov.vn – Translated by A.T