I just went to Hai Phong to visit the grave of my late friend Nguyen Thuy Kha on the occasion of his first death anniversary, and suddenly remembered the day Cuong was MC with a young girl at Laca cafe to introduce Kha's last poetry collection and a book of articles about Kha organized by Cuong. That afternoon, Cuong didn't look bad, but only about 4 months later, Cuong also passed away... ...
One day in mid-July 2025, young female writer Chu Thuy Anh texted me, saying that Cuong's illness was critical, unlikely to survive this week. But Cuong is still awake, aware. Cuong's personality is meticulous, careful, perfectionist and aesthetic. In addition, according to some people, Cuong always wants to "maintain his image" because he often participates in social activities with events, and is also a public figure, so when sick, Cuong is even more careful.
When I visited Vinmec, Cuong recognized me, tried to reach out, gently said: "Anh Hanh" and then quietly. Cuong's eyes had lost their sharpness, no longer having a friendly smile through their eyes. Those eyes seemed to be looking into another world. Cuong's face was slightly dull. Looking at his swollen legs, I felt tightened. People enter and leave life from their feet... ...
It can be said that Cuong is a strange phenomenon in the visual arts world. Born and raised in a family of Hanoi origin, Cuong's father - poet Le Nguyen is truly talented in the true beautiful sense of the word, Cuong's mother is cinematographer Do Phuong Thao whom I am lucky to know she was still alive before playing with Cuong. Ms. Thao is a serious person, but very kind to everyone she knows.
It seems, if I remember correctly, Cuong said his name was given by his grandfather. Cuong sometimes said when he was happy when they met: "Le Thiet here!". Even if he temporarily reduced his nickname, Cuong was still the same! Once I joked, Thiet also means "iron", hard enough.
Indeed, the name often haunted him throughout his life. According to Dao Duy Anh's Sino-Vietnamese Dictionary, the word "Cuong" - "Bat tho nhu bat nhu": "Hardened but not released, soft but not swallowed," he explained that it meant respecting justice, despising power. Moreover, being a soldier for several years, further fostering Cuong's strong personality.
It can be said that Cuong is a painter who is almost completely self-taught. Not studying at Yet Kieu School (Vietnam University of Fine Arts on Yet Kieu Street - Hanoi), nor studying at the University of Industrial Fine Arts. Cuong only studied for a very short time at the Faculty of Fine Arts Design of the School of Water - Electricity (at that time people shortened it), then with his own creative personality, unable to bear the school-based learning style, Cuong left school and returned to the path of self-study.
I think that was the right choice and it completely changed Cuong's fate. If Cuong had tried to endure and accept, now maybe no one would know that Cuong is a painter, if he only painted for the whole life in color backgrounds, podiums... for the stage or did scene building, props... for movies.
It is undeniable that the name Le Thiet Cuong has become one of the leading names in Vietnamese visual arts since those years. Cuong's creativity is not only in the field of painting purely within the framework. As a multi-talented and multi-faceted person in the field of fine arts activities, and Cuong has stepped out of the framework of painting in the classical sense, making a fairly clear contribution to the temporary term "socialization" of the less dynamic country's fine arts to contribute to raising the love and appreciation of fine arts in particular and beauty in general.
On that path, there are times when it seems that only Cuong and more or less he has succeeded even though it is an endless long road... Le Thiet Cuong's name has probably become a rare "brand" in the painting world. There are people who may not really love painting, have little ability to appreciate art but like to play, to be close to Cuong, sometimes just to avoid being called démodé (outdated, outdated).
Le Thiet Cuong's appeal through his playing style and creative path is indeed undeniable. However, there are also many people who hate, envy, or even people who cherish Cuong very much but are sometimes hesitant. Such a world is also normal. Cuong also has many times "bringing disaster" upon himself because of "verbal karma". I have also witnessed some such times!
Cuong is tough but not too extreme, not unfaithful. Whenever I get close to Cuong, I see that, in fact, Cuong understands the gentleness, righteousness, and is always kind and thoughtful to everyone, even if some people are not close and attached.
For more than ten years, Cuong has gone to Bat Trang many times to make ceramic vases, draw and copy poetry himself or even just sentences from colleagues to remember them, Cuong does not calculate gains and losses for himself... And Cuong also spends effort making covers for writers and poets if they request and ask for help.
In addition to helping friends, Cuong also considers it a hobby even though he knows clearly that he is not a cover designer. Even in Paris (France) in the early years of the 20th century, a few avant-garde artists sometimes made spin-offs and vignettes for a few poets, but almost never designed covers. Cuong is different, just following his own wishes and responding to the love of friends... ...
When I was preparing to go to the US with my son, Cuong gave me a Japanese lacquer tea tray that when I came to the house and saw that I kept my promise to bring it to use, Cuong smiled happily... ...
More than 6 years later, I returned to my homeland completely, but unexpectedly, in less than 2 years in my country, both dear friends had left. When I rummaged through the fragments of memories, I saw a handwritten letter from Cuong to us, the reporters of Lao Dong Cuoi Tuan Newspaper... Please copy verbatim: "If the caption next to the illustration can be printed, that would be good. This sentence is excerpted from the story "And also left, also devastated, also devastated"...".
Until now, I don't remember this short story, but the lines Cuong wrote must have been about 15 years ago. Of course, I agreed according to the wishes of Cuong, a close collaborator of ours, but found Cuong's proposal very strange, unlike any artist who draws illustrations for a short story. To this day, I am even more sad not only because of Cuong's meticulousness, but also not because of excellent sentences or any discoveries or creations. That is like Cuong's own exclamation, of course, the inevitable fate of each person.
Cuong is close to Eastern culture, respects Buddhism and loves Ly - Tran poetry and literature more than Western culture. In his later years, we saw Cuong become more gentle, more generous and give up a lot. Except for one thing, Cuong did not want to accept fate, did not fall for it, and had the will to try to escape to the end... Over the years, I understood more about the poem by King Tran Thanh Tong, written one day before his death: "Born as before, born as before/ Died as if escaping the yoke" (translated: Living as wearing a shirt/ Dying as if leaving the yoke). Cuong probably still remembers the poem by Tran Tung (Tue Trung Thuong Si): "Doan tri khong huu bat tuong sa/ Sinh tu nguyen tong nhat phai ba" (translated: Guessing that "no" and "yes" are not much different/ Life and death are originally from a wave).
Cuong, Cuong is also a wave, my own wave. Not easy to forget...
