Rare opportunity to admire the once famous works of old Saigon

Sài Gòn - Ảnh 1. — Quietly admiring a corner displaying three works by artist Ta Ty at the exhibition - Photo: H.VY

Taking place from now until July 3 at the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, the exhibition "Old Saigon's Famous Works " by collector Vu Dinh Hai, brings together about 60 works by more than 30 artists, most of whom lived and worked in the South during the period 1960-1975.

This is a rare opportunity for the public to see with their own eyes the works of famous names in Southern fine arts before 1975.

A part of the memory of old Saigon art

Entering the space of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association these days, viewers seem to be transported back in time to a time when Saigon was once vibrant and full of nostalgia. Oil paintings, lacquer paintings, wallpaper paintings… by more than 30 artists open up a stream of vivid memories.

There are names that were thought to only exist in books that suddenly appear clearly: Be Ky, Ho Hoang Dai, Nguyen Tri Minh, Le Chanh, Phuong Quang, Huy Dung, Ta Ty, Nguyen Gia Tri... Many works reflect the daily life, people and landscapes of old Saigon, carrying poetry, life and cultural depth.

Among them are paintings created in the 1950s such as "Happy Night" or "Construction Season" by famous painter Ta Ty, a pioneer in abstraction and cubism in Vietnam.

Sài Gòn - Ảnh 2. — The work "Construction season" (color powder) by artist Ta Ty painted in 1958 at the exhibition - Photo: H.VY

Viewers also have the opportunity to enjoy the emotional sketches of famous painter Be Ky, the "sidewalk icon" of Saigon with a unique, rustic style.

Next to it are the deep and expressive paper paintings of two senior artists Ho Hoang Dai and Ho Thanh Duc.

The works of famous artists such as Van Den, Ta Ty, Nguyen Gia Tri, Nguyen Tri Minh... received special attention from collectors, art lovers and art students who came to enjoy them.

The most impressive is the large abstract lacquer painting by the famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri, who is known as the "father of modern Vietnamese lacquer painting".

Sài Gòn - Ảnh 3. — Collector Vu Dinh Hai next to a large abstract lacquer painting by famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri - Photo: H.VY

“Among the paintings in this batch, I like Nguyen Gia Tri’s painting the most because it was the one my brother kept and left to me. Mr. Tri is the one who created the typical Vietnamese lacquer, and is probably the first person to express abstraction with Vietnamese lacquer,” said collector Vu Dinh Hai.

The painting was painted by Nguyen Gia Tri in the 1960s, when this famous artist developed the unique Vietnamese lacquer technique with lacquer, real yellow and a self-mixed color palette.

"This is a golden opportunity. It is not easy for us to have the opportunity to access paintings by famous authors of old Saigon, because many paintings from that time were lost.

Looking at the work, we can see that Southern painting at that time still retained the old academic style, the soul was not of Indochina fine art but very simple and sincere of Southern people" - researcher Ngo Kim Khoi felt.

Sài Gòn - Ảnh 4. — Witness a part of old Saigon's memories at the exhibition - Photo: H.VY

The heart of a memory keeper

Since the early 1980s, when the country was still facing many difficulties, Vu Dinh Hai has been quietly collecting paintings from sidewalks, old markets, bookstores, and even from friends. Born in 1956, he has a special passion for painting and a love for old Saigon painters.

By 1985, he owned about 300 paintings, most of which were works by pre-1975 Southern artists, many of whom were former students of Gia Dinh Art School, the cradle of Southern fine arts.

In 2018-2019, Mr. Hai brought about 200 paintings to his home in the US for better preservation. This time, before bringing the remaining 100 paintings back to the US, he selected 60 paintings to organize an exhibition so that his brothers, friends and the public could have the opportunity to look back at the works of once-famous painters who are no longer around.

Sài Gòn - Ảnh 5. — Art lovers who come to the exhibition all want to keep memories of the precious works - Photo: H.VY

“Many people want to buy it but I don’t sell it,” Vu Dinh Hai affirmed. For him, the paintings are not assets, but precious memories that need to be preserved. “I want to preserve them so that future generations have the opportunity to see and learn about the past. I don’t have any intentions, I just have feelings to give to them,” the collector emotionally expressed.

The exhibition not only recalls the golden age of Southern painting, but is also a rare opportunity for researchers, students, and art lovers to directly approach names that once only appeared in books and newspapers.

Among the authors, only painter Ho Hoang Dai remains. He is also one of the few senior painters of the city's fine arts in his nineties. As researcher Ngo Kim Khoi said: "Each brush stroke, each color block is a story, a bridge between the past and today".

Therefore, the effort of collector Vu Dinh Hai to preserve and introduce the work through this exhibition not only has artistic significance, but also profound historical andeducational value.

Some pictures at the exhibition: