 |
|
Floral: Moon Sonata, acrylic on linen, by Ana Tzarev. |
HA NOI — Artist Ana Tzarev's floral paintings will be featured in a solo exhibition in Ha Noi.
She introduces 41 canvas and 35 pottery paintings of many flowers such as the Hawaiian ginger, oahu, heliconia, protea, bird of paradise, belladonna lily and golden orchid.
"I develop a floral design using images of flowers from countries all around the world as the universal language of peace and love," says Tzarev.
"I want to engage visitors and the people of Viet Nam in something extremely positive and uplifting to celebrate both the millennium anniversary of Ha Noi and continuing peace for this beautiful, historic city."
Tzarev visited the city in April to meet with painter Nguyen Thu Thuy, the Ha Noi Ceramic Road Project's founder; to visit Bat Trang pottery village to work with artisans on her pottery flowers; to witness her pottery flowers glued on the road, a 30m section on Yen Phu Street which runs near the flower markets.
Tzarev was born in Croatia in 1937, and grew up surrounded by Renaissance art and centuries of culture, but also with the hardships following the World War II, says painter Vi Kien Thanh, deputy head of the culture ministry's Department of Fine Arts and Photography.
Her works revealed her formal education and a natural empathy for the dispossessed, he said.
Tzarev works on large paintings, impasto style (where paint is laid on very thickly, usually thickly enough that the brush or painting-knife strokes are visible. Paint can also be mixed right on the canvas. When dry, impasto provides texture, the paint coming out of the canvas).
"The energy required to render the paintings is tremendous and the resultant works are vibrant, powerful and emotional," Thanh said.
Tzarev studied horticulture and became a landscape artist. Her floral works are inspired by flowers from all over the world.
Through her works, Tzarev chronicles dozens of rituals and scenes of daily life worldwide.
"As I travel through time, I record my experiences in paintings and leave them as postcards to future generations," she says.
The exhibition will run until next Monday at Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi. — VNS