by Duc Ngoc
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In the moment: Nguyen Minh Quang's Obssessed with the Fourth Dimension. Quang's lacquer paintings are on show at HCM City's Tu Do Gallery until June 24. — VNS Photo |
HCM CITY — Life is nothing, if you do not find your soul, your passion and your own path.
An inward-looking philosophical message is not what one expects from a handsome man with an Armani haircut and dressed in jeans, but Nguyen Minh Quang is not one who looks to fit any bill.
One of the HCM City Fine Arts College's youngest lecturers at 38, his message, for students and viewers is "to go beyond our immediate surroundings".
"People are limited by the three dimensions. I help my viewers open the fourth dimension to research, create and affirm themselves," Quang says.
His latest exhibition at Tu Do Gallery, named Am Anh Chieu Thu Tu (Obsessed with the Fourth Dimension), is a message to enjoy and discover oneself.
"Find your soul and find your passion. Then find your way of life. It's a matter of priority," Quang says.
The colourful lacquer paintings that show life is beautiful and constantly changing, provokes the viewer into considering a change in their lifestyle and go beyond the ordinary.
"Through my show, I want to encourage people to get involved in life and discover new things around them," Quang says.
A member of the city's Fine Arts Association, Quang says he enjoys working with lacquer because "the traditional art makes me different from young artists who find themselves in installation and performance arts".
Writer/translator Duong Tuong says he enjoys Quang's art for the use of traditional elements that "have to be quite strong and passionate".
Tuong visited Quang's solo exhibition in 2006 in Ha Noi's Dong Phong Gallery.
"All of his paintings feature chairs in different shapes and sizes, telling a story between the artist and chairs," he recalled.
"After viewing Quang's works, I looked back on Romanian dramatist Eugene Ionesco's The Chairs, a popular play written in 1952 that debuted the same year in Paris, featuring only two characters frantically preparing chairs for a series of invisible guests.
"I think Quang's art can be called a space-time continuum, with the space including the fourth dimension," says Tuong, adding that he and many fans of Quang love and enjoy this space.
Born in Ha Noi, Quang developed his career in HCM City, and has exhibited his works in the two cities as well as Seoul, Oslo and Paris.
He has just returned to HCM City after a tour to Paris and Ha Noi to show his works at two group exhibitions that attracted many local artists.
"Through my works at Tu Do Gallery, I hope city residents will be able to share my thinking.
"I want to infuse my zeal for art to youngsters, particularly young artists and show them a way to feel, work and live according to who and what they really are."
Quang's lacquer art is on display until June 24, 10am-6pm at Tu Do Gallery, 53 Ho Tung Mau Street, District 1.— VNS