What to do to develop Da Nang fine arts and enhance its position is a concern among painters and sculptors in the current trend of blooming many art trends.

The Da Nang Fine Arts Association admits new members. Photo: GIA HUY

Finding your own path

As reported by painter and sculptor Dinh Gia Thang, Chairman of the Art Council, the Da Nang Fine Arts Association, the Da Nang Fine Arts Association has, for the time being, 85 members. This number is still modest compared to the capital city of Ha Noi and the southern metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City. In terms of quality of works, Da Nang fine arts previously won many high awards at national fine arts exhibitions, even winning Gold medals.

In the current trend of artistic innovation, fine arts are changing rapidly. The fine arts sector in Ha Noi and some northern provinces is leaning towards the modern trend that appeared in the world since 1860 - today called postmodern. Along with that is the contemporary trend that appeared in the world since 1960 until now and has only appeared in Viet Nam since the last few years of the 20^th century until now.

Meanwhile, the fine arts sector in the South, and Ho Chi Minh City in particular, shows many differences. Besides the modern trend, there are many works that still follow the style of realism, hyper-realism and surrealism but still create beautiful effects and convey positive messages to the public. However, in the fine arts of Ha Noi and Ho Chi Minh City, it is inevitable that some works bear the shadow of famous artists such as Henry Moore and Jackson Pollock. And from the end of the 20^th century and the beginning of the 21^st century until now, other postmodern art forms such as Performance Art or Body Art, Video Art, Installation Art have also appeared in a number of exhibitions in Viet Nam.

The blooming trend of many artistic tendencies has had a significant impact on the creative orientation of painters and sculptors in Da Nang. Therefore, in addition to understanding the nature and influence of artistic trends on the public, each creator needs to find an artistic language that suits his or her thinking and emotions.

According to painter and sculptor Dinh Gia Thang, in addition to innovation in artistic form, the content and ideology of the work are important factors for the work to leave the author’s mark and last over time. The combination of modern and traditional languages requires a subtle distillation and articulation like a natural flow, without being assembled or forced. Regarding the skills of handling materials in the work, each author needs to explore and upgrade further by testing themselves in regional and national playgrounds.

Creating more playgrounds for experience exchanges

In the type of woodblock prints, artist Truong Nguyen Nguyen Kha, a member of the Da Nang Fine Arts Association, said that in the past, Da Nang woodblock prints have contributed a small part to the overall development of Da Nang fine arts.

At national and regional exhibitions, there have been woodblock prints created by Da Nang artists, many of whom have been highly appreciated such as Nguyen Tuong Vinh, Phan Thanh Hai, Truong Nguyen Nguyen Kha, Do Thanh and Nguyen Tien Viet.

Many works have won high awards such as ‘Hoi An in the past’ by artist Nguyen Tuong Vinh won the A prize at the Fine Arts Exhibition of Zone 5 in Quang Ngai Province organised by the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association; ‘Childhood’ by artist Truong Nguyen Nguyen Kha won the C prize in 2018; ‘Early Sea’ by artist Tran Thi Cuc won the Encouragement prize in 2022; ‘Dawn on the Han River’ by artist Do Thanh won the Encouragement prize in 2023 at the Fine Arts Exhibition of Zone 5. 

In order for Da Nang woodblock prints to develop strongly and keep up with others from other countries in the region and the world at large, artist Truong Nguyen Nguyen Kha underlined a must-do for the Da Nang Fine Arts Association to organise specialised exhibitions on woodblock prints such as: colour woodblock prints, black and white woodblock prints and those combined with other materials.

In addition, it is essential to create conditions for graphic artists in general, and woodblock print artists in particular, to have creative camps to exchange experiences on platemaking techniques, materials, and printing with those from the North and South of the country.

Reporting by GIA HUY - Translating by A.THU