Touching Peace" is Do Van Tiep's first solo exhibition after many years of pursuing a professional painting path. This is both a milestone affirming personal imprint and a look back at a creative journey to open up new movements.
The combination of more than 40 works is made on two main materials: oil paint on canvas and gouache on Do paper, which can be structured into three groups: Ben, Bo and Du Thanh, creating a slow and deep rhythm for the journey to find peace that the exhibition aims for.
Ben
The wharf is present with boats, anchors, wharves, waiting areas, connections and tranquility at the sea gate. The deep color of oil paint is favored, creating a deep and thoughtful atmosphere.
It could be one or more boats in Peace 22, Peace 34, a piece of boat body in Peace 12, a lonely lifebuoy in Peace 37 or an unfinished bridge span of Peace 33... Whether it is a panoramic or specific perspective, Do Van Tiep does not put the image of a person in the painting. But behind those simple objects is a layer of rich and suggestive meaning. Viewers can feel the contrast between leaving and returning, between movement and stillness. It is at Ben that the rhythm of human life is depicted most clearly, not with direct images but with traces left behind.
Some works use gouache on Do paper with bright and cold colors, bringing a lighter and fresher nuance. Flexibility in material choice helps the same flow of expression have more emotional levels.
Bank
If Ben is an anchorage, Bo expands the view from the water surface to the nature, scenery and life present around the estuary, continuing into the cultural space and human breath.
In this group of works, bright colors and strong, decisive monochrome patches are intentionally used more by the artist. However, the overarching spirit is still the simple, peaceful beauty, not displayed or led by large statements.
We encounter a "Peaceful Shore" in "Peaceful 18", or the spacious, vibrant green color in "Peaceful 21"... Those are very ordinary moments but enough to evoke a feeling of peace and relaxation.
Du Thanh
Du Thanh is the amplitude of expansion in Do Van Tiep's creative journey, when the observation flow shifts from nature to cultural space and spiritual life.
There are memories still preserved in the corner of the old architecture of Binh Yen 25, Binh Yen 27; there is a majestic and sacred look of faith in Binh Yen 23; there is a bit of regret in front of a cathedral gradually receding into oblivion amidst the flow of life in Binh Yen 05, Binh Yen 24. No longer just recording scenery, these works show a deeper perspective on human memories, culture and beliefs.
Do Van Tiep's paintings do not show technique or layers of labor. He also does not put great declarations on the table. What is present in the paintings are only rustic, sincere, and refined emotions.
Touching Peace" is therefore not only an exhibition of works, but also a confession about an identity that has found harmony between the inner and outer worlds. Ben, Bo or Du Thanh are all quiet, but behind that silence is a lasting rhythm of life and a passionate love for life.
The value that the exhibition brings is not in the overwhelmingness of form, but in the ability to make viewers silent to reflect on themselves through simple beauties. Because perhaps, after every journey of human life, what we seek is always a peaceful place to return to.
The exhibition "Touching Peace" takes place from July 19 to 28 at the Fine Arts Exhibition House 16 Ngo Quyen, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi, promising to bring many appreciations to art lovers.
Do Van Tiep was born in 1986 in Nam Dinh, graduated from the Central University of Art Education. He has participated in many group exhibitions, regional exhibitions, and has also received a number of national art awards in recent years.
