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The sky, the Buddha's image,
The Huong Son area is something I've longed for.
Look at the mountains, the water, the clouds!
The first question asked was, "Is this it?"
(Song of the Scenery of Huong Son - Chu Manh Trinh)
Inside the colonial-era building that once housed the Sri Thendayuthapani Hindu temple guesthouse, the exhibition "Behold the Mountains, Waters, and Clouds" was born from the poetic imagery in Chu Manh Trinh's poem "Huong Son Landscape Song," a renowned scholar of the Nguyen Dynasty. The poem describes the exquisite beauty of nature, deeply moving many readers. This emotion is also reflected throughout Ha Manh Thang's artistic observations. In the exhibition, he explores the multifaceted meaning and the historical evolution of the perspective on landscape painting in art from ancient times to the present day.
Hà Mạnh Thắng's poem "Look at the mountains, the water, the clouds" was inspired by the poetic imagery in Chu Mạnh Trinh's "Huong Son Phong Canh Ca" (Song of the Scenery of Huong Son).
Ha Manh Thang and his poetic paintings
Ha Manh Thang graduated from Hanoi Fine Arts University in 2004. In his previous works, his color palette leaned towards bright colors and popular art elements. However, in "Look at the mountains, the water, the clouds," his color palette is somewhat more subdued.
As someone who loves and studies ancient cultural heritage, Ha Trong Thang is always impressed by how the ancients viewed and expressed their style through landscape paintings, screens, and classical poetry. The landscapes in these paintings and screens are often simplified in detail, not adhering to the rules of perspective. Therefore, the subjects are simultaneously hidden or visible against the painted background.
As someone who loves and studies ancient cultural heritage, Ha Trong Thang is always impressed by how the ancients viewed and expressed their style through architectural structures, screens, and classical poetry.
Silk turns into stone.
During a visit to the Vietnam National History Museum in Hanoi, the author encountered an ancient stone stele dating back to the Sui Dynasty (581-618). In East Asian cultural history, these steles typically have three parts: the top; the rounded base, which in the past may have been shaped like a turtle's back or a lotus pedestal; and the inner part of the stele, which contains important information with social influence, such as moral principles, literary works, and achievements to be passed down to future generations. Ha Manh Thang used the form of this ancient stone stele to reflect on its enduring nature and timeless elements in this series of works.
His "gravestones" are a combination of silk, canvas, and complex materials such as acrylic paint, lacquer, gold leaf, and glitter scattered across the canvas.
The unique aspect of Ha Manh Thang's work lies in its materials. His "gravestones" are a combination of silk, canvas, and complex materials such as acrylic paint, lacquer, gold leaf, and glitter scattered across the canvas. Thanks to the translucent properties of silk, the surface of the gravestone changes depending on the movement of light. Notably, the back of each piece features a frosted mica layer, laser-engraved with the artist's most cherished lines of ancient poetry.
Notably, the back of each artwork features a frosted mica layer, laser-engraved with the artist's most cherished lines of classical poetry.
Regarding Ha Manh Thang's approach, art historian Nora Taylor observed and commented on the nature of the materials he used: "How can silk be both transparent and translucent? Both light as a feather and appear heavy as stone? The inherent tensile nature of the universe is revealed as two opposing forces of yin and yang."
Unlike traditional methods, Ha Manh Thang has transformed silk into a durable surface for layers of paint to adhere to. The surface treatments make the artworks look like stone. The sixteen paintings in "Look at the Mountains, the Water, the Clouds" are part of the "Circle of Time" series, which he has created since 2016. Each work is a journey of discovery into the enduring and timeless nature of art for Ha Manh Thang.
Each artwork is a journey of discovery into the enduring and timeless nature of Ha Manh Thang's art.
The living space of a work of art
Ha Manh Thang suggested to viewers of his paintings: “If possible, please come to the exhibition when the sun is still shining. Natural light will reflect on the surface of the artwork – the front will have shimmering metallic particles, while the back will show patches of color ‘falling’ from the thin silk. And as the light changes throughout the day, there will be a strong and continuous transformation on the artwork, affecting the entire exhibition space. That’s what I wanted for this exhibition, to be able to admire the artworks in such natural sunlight.”
Ha Manh Thang suggested that viewers view his paintings while the sun is still shining.
Artist Ha Manh Thang hopes his works can be as close as possible to the environment that created them. Sharing his thoughts on the space of "Look at the mountains, the water, the clouds," Ha Manh Thang felt that the four red brick walls and the moss-covered ceiling created a connection with his works: "I connect with this space, perhaps because I have the ability to create a layer of green moss, a layer of copper rust, an old-fashioned look like this house."
