 |
| Painting enthusiasts in Hue |
Hoang Nhu Thuy An is always innocent and true to himself. He is passionate and thoroughly devoted to art. It is painting that rescues him from the stroke. Going through difficulties, he now immerse himself in his pure peaceful world. Beholding his paintings, one feels light-hearted and love this life more.
His 29 paintings, mostly small-sized, depict Hoang Nhu Thuy An’s pure world. They are still lives such as a guitar, glasses, fans, vases, traditional musical instruments. They are also dancing birds, the boy and his horse, the young woman and birds, etc. Now and then, stillness and movement combine on the emerald background like in the painting “The Man and his Dog,” “The Young Woman and the Moon,” and so on.
In Hoang Nhu Thuy An’s pure world are many appealing paintings. Take for example the painting “The Boy and his Horse 1”, which is printed on the catalog. The light-blue-turning-into-green background evokes the feeling of calmness and dreaminess just like in a dream. The boy and the horse are standing face to face, nose to nose, eyes to eyes, evoking the profound connection between people and nature. The boy and the horse are painted in warm yellow color in contrast to the blue background representing light in the quiet world. The boy’s eyes are big with dreamy curved eyelashes. The horse’s eyes are very “human”. It is as if their eyes are talking with one another, which is the embodiment of understanding and pristine empathy. There is something pure and innocent in the friendship of the boy and the horse without boundary, but pure bondage.
As for the painting "Carrying”, in terms of composition, the viewer is attracted by the prominent round shape, orange in color, stands out in the lower half of the painting where the infant lies curled up in a fetal position. It is the symbol of the mother universe, circulation and rebirth. Note that the mother does not have a clear outline, but her figure blends into the background, as if the mother is part of the light and of the surrounding space. The mother is not only the carrier, but also the environment for life, like the earth, the heaven, the ocean… The yellow, orange and white colors gradually turn blue and grey, creating unreal light but soft, evoking the feeling of entering a pristine dream where the human being hasn’t been separated from their origin. “Carrying” is not just a painting about the mother and her child, but a prayer, a symbol of origin and human characters.
Beholding his paintings to identify oneself and life, then to question oneself how comes a 77-year-old man with hemiplegia still paints. The answer is his astonishing inner strength and passion.