Apple of his eye: The painting The Vision celebrates Apple co-founder Steve Jobs.   Family man: The painting My Hope shows Steve Jobs with his son.

HA NOI  (VNS)— "Stay hungry. Stay foolish. Think different."

This famous phrase by late Apple co-founder Steve Jobs has continued to inspire people all over the world even after his death last year.

To mark the first anniversary of his death and acknowledge his contribution to society, a group of Vietnamese artists has assembled an exhibition of artworks that aim to tell the story of his life and career.

The exhibition, entitled Think Different, is taking place at the National Library in Ha Noi through tomorrow. It is believed to be the first-ever art exhibition in the world dedicated to Jobs.

Sponsored by the US Embassy in Viet Nam, it includes a bust of Jobs and 21 oil paintings that illustrate his life and contributions to information technology during a 35-year career. Jobs was a charismatic pioneer in the personal computer revolution in the 1970s and 80s and made influential innovations in the computer and consumer electronics fields into the 21st century.

The project was initiated by Nguyen Duc Tien, an economist and Steve Jobs fan. Since Jobs's death on October 5 last year, Tien has worked on the project with painter Bui Van Khoa and sculptor Le Dinh Quy, both members of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association.

"Through the exhibition, we also want to send a message to young people in Viet Nam: equip yourself with different skills to be able to create products that can be welcomed by the whole world," said Tien.

The centrepiece of the exhibition is Quy's 2m-tall bust of Jobs made of steel and composite.

"I've always admired his talent and his simple life," said Quy. "My artwork can tell you about it."

The simplicity of Jobs is also reflected in Khoa's painting My Hope, in which Jobs is depicted standing next to his son. Jobs many times expressed his wish to prolong his life until his son graduated from high school. His wish was fulfilled. On the day his son graduated, Jobs gave him one of his two old bikes and said that he imagine his son riding it to work as doctor in Silicon Valley after his death.

In the painting The First Wave, Khoa tells the story of Jobs as the technological wizard who revolutionised the music industry through the iPod and the iTunes digital music programme.

"The exhibition represents the respect of members of the Viet Nam Fine Arts Association for Jobs," said the president of the Association's Art Critical Council, Nguyen Do Bao. "I hope that the show will motivate Vietnamese young people to study throughout their lives and be ready to overcome all of challenges to success."

Jobs was named one of the 20 most influential Americans of all time by Time magazine, placing his name alongside iconic historical greats like George Washington, Alexander Graham Bell, and Albert Einstein. He died of cancer on October 5, 2011, after first being diagnosed with the disease in 2003.

The exhibition is at 31 Trang Thi Street in Ha Noi. — VNS