Art of glass: A visitor at the exhibition of glass paintings at the Xa Loi Pagoda on Sunday. — VNS Photo Huu Giang

HCM CITY (VNS)— The first exhibition of glass paintings in five decades has opened at the Xa Loi Pagoda in HCM City.

It showcased 100 typical glass works owned by collector and researcher Huynh Thanh Binh, besides some from the collections of other aficionados.

Glass paintings, used for decoration and worship, are mainly a southern thing, with most of those at the exhibition having been made in HCM City, Binh Duong, Tra Vinh, An Giang, and elsewhere in Mekong Delta.

The previous exhibition was held in 1957.

Besides the beauty of the paintings itself, they are also famous for their inside-out techniques: artists paint mirror images on the back of the glass.

The technique was brought to Viet Nam by the Nguyen dynasty in the early 20th century, and was further developed by the Chinese ethnic community in Cho Lon in what is now HCM City's District 5.

The pagoda is located at 89 Ba Huyen Thanh Quan Street, District 3, and the exhibition will go on until tomorrow. — VNS