Welcome to “Fated Encounters”, a retrospective exhibition to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the birth of the late Trần Phúc Duyên (1923-1993). His life and legacy aptly embody the “duyên” (“fate”) in his name, constructed by and situated in the confluence of living entities, historical currents and dimensions of ideologies.
Sparked by Phạm Lê’s chancing upon the art collection left forgotten for decades in Switzerland, this is a repatriation project to bring such legacy home. Throughout his career, Trần Phúc Duyên had had more than 20 solo exhibitions both in Vietnam and Europe. This, however, is to be the largest and most comprehensive, with most works being unveiled to the domestic public for the first time.
Especially noteworthy is perhaps the confluence of East and West in the techniques, themes and philosophies so masterfully expressed in Trần Phúc Duyên’s art. He was a pioneer to successfully weave Western oil and Eastern ink-wash techniques using Vietnamese lacquer. Upon half a century of research and practice, the artist distilled his visual lexicon from a figurative, decorative start to a minimalistic, abstract end, effectively elevating Vietnamese lacquer art to an equivalent status to Western oil as a medium of expression.
The exhibition features more than 100 works in lacquer, silk, woodcut prints and sketches, spanning across and representative of Trần Phúc Duyên’s career from his graduation from the l'École des Beaux-Arts d'Indochine’s Class 16 (1942-1945) and his Hanoi atelier period (1948-1954) to his years in France (1954-1968) and Switzerland (1968-1993), where he passed away. The works are arranged into rooms over two floors, documenting the artist’s journey from figurative to minimalistic: Daily Life in Indochina, Landscape, Still Life and Motifs, Ink Wash, Abstract, and Commemoration.
Despite the geographical distance and material shortage, Trần Phúc Duyên dedicated his life to the research, experimentation and art making with lacquer, and successfully transformed it from a decorative medium to an artistic discipline. His talent and industry shone decisively, like the moon in his art. This exhibition hopes to bring some of such brilliance back to its birth place.
Sincerely,
