Life & English: “Exhibition Do’10”

Do’ paper is a material traditionally used in the creation of Dong Ho paintings, a type of folk woodcut painting which originates in Dong Ho village in BacNinh Province, Northern Vietnam. It is a natural paper created by the bark of the Do tree (Rhamnoneuron balansae).

Exhibition Do’10 was organized in late Jul 2013 at HCMC Fine Arts Museum. Do’10 was a retrospective exhibition featuring selected paintings and installation works created by Le Hien Minh over the last decade, all of which utilize traditional Vietnamese handmade Do paper as the central medium. Dó10 illustrated the progression of this artist’s creativity from her early 2D experiments with Do paper, to her large scale sculptures of today.

Although the Do paper was the central medium in her work, her overall body of work appears to have been created using a diversity of materials. For example, the material of “Birds” 2009 appeared to be stone and “Home” 2004 appeared to be rusty metal. This diversity of appearance was a natural outcome of art making process, which engages natural elements such as rain, humidity, sun, etc. to generate unpredictable outcomes.

The artist through her use of Do Paper, offers a new perspective on a traditional Vietnamese material. In this work, the material acts as a bridge between contemporary Vietnamese/Global culture, and Vietnamese art history and traditional culture.

 (Source: cinet.gov.vn  &  hanoigrapevine.com)