On April 16, at the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition "Play with Leaves" by artist and journalist Ta Hai displayed 82 works created from leaves and dried flowers. This is his third solo exhibition, and also a milestone for the 60-year journey of persistent pursuit of a very unique artistic direction.
Unlike many artists who use leaves as a material for dyeing or creating backgrounds, artist Ta Hai's paintings retain the natural color of each leaf. For him, each leaf is not just a material, but a "living individual" with a unique beauty.
He shared that his love for this material started very early, when he was still in the military. On the roads, when he encountered fallen leaves, he realized their special beauty, a beauty that many people unintentionally ignore.
Many people think dry leaves are something that has run out of value, but for me, it has its own life, very beautiful and very impressive," the artist shared.
For many people, the fallen leaves have a completely different color from the leaves still on the tree. Falling leaves are also the time when its journey is no longer there, and it is also the time to say goodbye to this world. But in the eyes of the artist, the color of the fallen leaves is what makes it different, falling is not about losing but a new journey that will begin.
One of the important principles in artist Ta Hai's creation is not to lose the nature of the material. The leaves in his paintings completely retain their natural colors, are not dyed, and are not treated with chemicals.
I don't want to interfere with nature. Each leaf has its own voice, I am just the one who listens and rearranges them," he shared.
That awareness led him to a different artistic journey: preserving the natural beauty of leaves, instead of intervening or transforming them.
In more than 80 works on display, viewers can clearly see the artist's continuous exploration. From small leaves, he creates compositions rich in shaping, with a modern painting vibe.
Painting does not just stop at "combining leaves", but has reached the language of visual art, where colors, shapes and lights blend to tell private stories.
For artist Ta Hai, dry leaves and flowers are not just materials, but a separate "language" to tell stories. He does not dye, does not intervene rudely in nature, but maintains the inherent color of each leaf, from the yellowish, dark brown to the very difficult to repeat streaks.
It is this respect that makes each work unique, like a slice of time preserved. Through the arrangement, choice of leaf surface, tendon direction or color transition, he turns materials that seem to have "ending the life cycle" into images rich in expression, with visual and emotional depth. This makes leaf paintings no longer stop at handicrafts or decorations, but become a form of artistic expression, where nature and people converse in a space full of poetry.
Although retired, artist Ta Hai is still diligently composing, seeing nature as a constant source of inspiration. For him, art is not about showing off techniques, but a journey of discovering and preserving simple values.
The exhibition "Play with Leaves" is not only a place to display works, but also a reminder of the beauty of things that seem very small. In each dry leaf, each thin vein, viewers can feel time, memories and a philosophy of life: cherishing the most natural things, because that is what creates lasting value.
