He Cheo (Cheo Clown) by Ta Huy Long.

VietNamNet Bridge - An art exhibit of Ta Huy Long, displaying paintings inspired by Vietnamese traditional pictures and fairy tales, has been held in the French Cultural Centre.

Ngay Xua Toi La...(I Once Was...) featured 24 water-colours that give a new but familiar view on the country’s people and life.

"Firstly I did not intend to name the exhibit like this. I only wanted to paint a central character surrounded by activities and events that happened to them. However, the more I painted, the more characters I wanted to depict. Therefore, I put myself into many kinds of characters to experience their feelings then show the feelings in my pictures", says Long.

Ta Huy Long graduated from the Ha Noi Industrial Fine Arts University and now works in the Kim Dong Publishing House. He has created hundreds of cartoons and books for young people.

The exhibit reminded attendees of a beautiful memory that most people had experienced in their life. All of them seemed to float on the sweet melodies of a lullaby while enjoying the paintings.

"Long’s pictures are the fruit of his labours. They do not only bring us a special world of colour that can only be seen in dreams but also reflects Long’s pity that the past peaceful times cannot come back", said art critic Phan Cam Thuong.

Through Long’s manner of using colour and abstract style, familiar animals like the tiger, birds, fish and grasshoppers amongst others became extremely lively and friendly since they all displayed human faces and movement. This shows the painter’s desire to diversify and enrich the limits of an individual.

Long also depicted Vietnamese society in the feudal times. Vua (King), Hoang Hau (Queen), Cong Chua (Princess), Vo Tuong (Military Mandarin), Thuong Gia (Merchant) and He Cheo (Cheo Clown) are among the pictures on this topic. In the paintings, a big face appears in the centre and a variety of activities related to the person are shown in the background.

Besides using light colours, Long has paid special attention to detail, which encouraged his audience to study his paintings in more detail.

The exhibit will run until November 30 at 24 Trang Tien Street, Ha Noi.

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