“Bat Trang ceramic shoes and a walk with Italian culture” - a unique art exhibition that weaves Italian fashion style into contemporary Vietnamese ceramic art. The exhibition officially “introduces” to the public a collection of 12 ceramic shoes with diverse materials and glaze colors - the legacy left by the late People's Artisan Vu Duc Thang. Notably, in the collection there is a pair of shoes that was awarded a certificate by the Vietnam Guinness Book of Records as “The largest pair of ceramic shoes in the country” in 2013.
The exhibition is organized by the Italian Embassy in Hanoi and the Bat Trang Museum of Vietnamese Soul Art (Bat Trang Museum) (Photo: Bat Trang Museum)
Vu Khanh Tung, son of the late People's Artist Vu Thang, also the Director of the Bat Trang Museum of Vietnamese Soul Art, confided: "I want to announce these shoes to the public, because these are beautiful works as well as the beginning of the upcoming plans of the Bat Trang Museum. In addition to these 12 ceramic shoes, my father also left behind thousands of other works during his 50 years of working. There are works that he kept for decades, and no one asked him to sell them but kept them for the Museum."
The shoe body is painted with a hundred flower motif, inspired by the saying "life has a hundred arts", symbolizing the blooming of hundreds of flowers in the professions of the Vietnamese people.
The shoes are inspired by the ancient story “Carp Jumps Over Dragon Gate”, with the body meticulously painted with fish scale motifs, and the toe of the shoe depicting a vivid image of a carp’s head. (Photo: Do Ha)
According to Mr. Antonio Alessandro, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, the collection “Bat Trang ceramic shoes and a walk with Italian culture” was inspired by the shape of Italy - the country shaped like a boot. This is also the way Italy preserves its national culture and brings Italian culture to the masses.
The fusion of Italian culture and Vietnamese art is not only expressed in the shape and pattern of the shoes, but also in the exhibition space: in the image of Bat Trang ceramic kiln and the leaning tower of Pisa. The pillars lean towards the center, in the middle are "mosaiced" 12 ceramic shoes, both convenient for visitors to visit and creating a unique "threshold" of artistic exchange between the two continents of Asia and Europe.
The exhibition is presented in a circular perspective, with leaning columns based on the image of the leaning tower of Pisa, (Photo: Do Ha)
The ceramic shoe has the "long cuon thuy" (dragon sucking water) pattern inspired by the dragon image of the 14th century Tran Dynasty. This ceramic shoe is also a continuation of the shoe with the "ly ngu vuoc long mon" pattern, depicting a carp jumping over the dragon gate and transforming into a big dragon. (Photo: Ha Quan)
As a long-time friend of the late artisan Vu Duc Thang, painter Le Ngoc Han - former lecturer at the University of Industrial Fine Arts - shared: "The exhibition has great cultural value. Right from the motifs, patterns, and graceful movements, it speaks of the Vietnamese soul in each pattern. Each pair of ceramic boots requires high technique from height to curvature because in the art of firing, no matter how good the artisan is, he still depends on the decision of the fire god Prometheus."
The Exhibition Organizing Committee also shared the hope that the above works will soon be present in the distant Italian capital of Rome, on the occasion of this city's candidacy to host the 2030 World Expo.
More information
Time: 9am to 8pm daily, from April 10 to May 3, 2022
Location: Italian Cultural Center - No. 18 Le Phung Hieu Street, Hanoi
Free admission
