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The Vietnam Women's Museum, in collaboration with the Le Ba Dang Memorial Space and the Lan Tinh Foundation, is organizing an art exhibition titled "Roots," showcasing the outstanding works of Vietnamese-American female artist To Bich Hai. The exhibition is not merely an art event, but also a journey that takes viewers back to the pristine values, memories, and profound emotions of their homeland and origins.
Artist To Bich Hai
Born in 1947 in Mong Cai, artist To Bich Hai is of the Tay ethnic group and possessed a passion for painting from an early age. She studied at the Lausanne Academy of Fine Arts (Switzerland), opening a creative path that spanned over half a century. In 1968, she officially settled in France, where she continued to pursue her artistic path with a distinctive style – blending modern Western influences with the deep-rooted traditions of the East.
"I had the opportunity to go to Italy and was so impressed by the beauty of oil painting that I started learning about this medium. After a while, I went to the Guimet Museum in France, which mainly features East Asian artworks. From there, I wanted to begin rediscovering who I am," Tô Bích Hải shared.
The artistic stages of painter To Bich Hai
At that time, To Bich Hai was passionate about collecting antique dolls. This passion inspired her to create many works about dolls, depicting young girls and European women. For a long time, she diligently collected and created, until her collection reached about 50 precious dolls. However, an unexpected incident occurred one evening when all her dolls were stolen. This shock was too great emotionally, causing her to decide to abandon her long-held passion. She left France for the United States, bought a farm, and gradually found peace in nature, instead of the world of dolls that had been her companion for so many years. After that, she moved back and forth between the United States and France constantly, developing her passion day by day.
These logs were brought back from France by To Bich Hai.
The exhibition "Roots" is a self-portrait of her journey back to her roots, where culture and memory intertwine in every line and color. Despite living far from her homeland, To Bich Hai's art remains deeply imbued with love for her motherland, the place that nurtured her soul and inspired her creations.
At the exhibition space, two remarkable sets of artworks, "Listening to the Whispers of the Stones" and "Listening to the Sighs of the Trees," are on display. These two sets of paintings open up a silent dialogue between humanity and nature, where each stone and each tree root speaks its own voice.
The artwork is part of the series "Listening to the Stones Whisper".
The series of works "Listening to the Trees Sigh"
The series of oil paintings in the exhibition made a strong impression due to their large size, depicting images of tree roots tightly intertwined around sturdy tree trunks, like nerve fibers connecting the artist's memories. The visual effects that To Bich Hai created in his paintings not only amazed viewers with his masterful technique but also evoked profound reflections on the connection between humans and nature.
Not limited to painting, To Bich Hai also experimented with various materials such as graphite, wood carving, and installation art. In her paintings, white spaces are skillfully used, creating a mystical atmosphere where stones possess souls, telling their own stories. Tiny creatures huddle together, watching each other, then becoming solitary in a vast, undefined world – all blending into a surreal, poetic painting.
By breathing life into each artwork, To Bich Van's exhibition takes viewers through a range of emotions.
Besides her abstract works, To Bich Hai also presents a series of still-life lacquer paintings – a fresh perspective on the origins of nature. In this series, she explores the image of sliced fruits as a metaphor for the flow of life, for the simple yet meaningful things in the universe.
In addition, the series of portraits of children is also a noteworthy highlight of the exhibition. The innocent faces and clear eyes of the children not only reflect the inner world of the artist herself but also open up branches of personal memories about the journey she has taken in a foreign land.
The "Origins" exhibition is not only an opportunity for the public to admire works of art of great artistic value, but also a chance to listen to the story of a female artist who is wholeheartedly devoted to art and always ponders about her origins and cultural identity.
Exhibition "Origins" - To Bich Hai
For To Bich Hai, painting is not just a form of creation, but also a means of connecting with her homeland, with what is most familiar in her mind. Despite living and working far from home, each brushstroke still carries a deep longing for her homeland, a steadfast love for Vietnam and its people. This exhibition not only offers an emotionally charged artistic space but also serves as a gentle yet profound reminder of the sacred connection between people and their roots. And there, amidst the colors and brushstrokes, we find ourselves on a journey back to the most fundamental things.
The exhibition "Origins" is open from March 7th to 25th at the Vietnam Women's Museum, 36 Ly Thuong Kiet Street, Hanoi.
