Carving their niche: Wood sculptures epicting traditional Hue lifestyles by Vietnamese-French artist To Bich Hai. — VNA/VNS Photo Ngoc Hien

HCM CITY — Over 40 paintings and sculptures by two Vietnamese-French female artists are on display in Hue City.

The works by To Bich Hai and Diem Phung Thi feature scenes from life and people in unique styles.

Hai's approach is to colour stones first, and use that as inspiration to paint. The 67 works, including 50 sculptures on wood, by Hai that are on display have been likened by critics to poems that praise people and art.

Hai developed her career in France, but her art is infused with the Vietnamese spirit.

Many of her works have been bought by museums and art collectors in France.

Twenty-six works by late sculptor Diem Phung Thi were sent from France for the exhibition.

"Thi's sculpture captures the hearts and minds of viewers," said Nguyen Thi Y Yen, an arts student at the Hue University.

Born in 1920 in Hue, Thi's original name is Phung Thi Cuc. She went to France to learn dentistry in 1948 and later married and lived here.

In 1960 she began to learn sculpture and worked as a professional sculptor since 1972.

She used a very unique style that many critics have called the "Diem Phung Thi Style", first building seven modules and later combining them in different ways.

Some of her large-size sculptures with wood, stone and steel, have been installed at several public spaces in France.

Solo exhibitions of her work have been held in Europe and Viet Nam. The works shown in the latest exhibition are on display for the first time in Viet Nam. Her name and art has been included in the Larousse Dictionary of the Arts. Her first exhibition in Hue in 1992, left a strong impression on visitors. The same year, she relocated from France to Viet Nam. In 1994, a house was built in Hue to display her works.

She died in Hue in 2002.

The exhibition runs through May 30 at the Diem Phung Thi Exhibition House on Phan Boi Chau Street, Hue City. — VNS