Painter Ho Thiet Trinh: Painting with passion

(Baonghean) - I thought that artist Ho Thiet Trinh was in Hanoi to receive the creative award on the theme "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh" on May 13, but when I called him, I heard him say "I missed the opportunity to go to Hanoi due to health reasons. He invited me to his house, to drink green tea, to talk about painting "maybe I will feel better". And in his simple house in Truong Thi ward (Vinh city) that day, I heard him confide in me about his life, his career...

The first thing that surprised me was that the artist's house had very few paintings. He hurriedly led us up to the attic. He said: That, that is his corner, the corner of the paintings. And strangely, when I stepped into that world, I had the feeling that the paintings seemed to come to life. They were moving in their frames. They were telling the story of a river flowing passionately, of trees twisting in the cold wind, of a corner of the rural market filled with human fate... Hardships, revivals, separations, waiting. It seemed like they were singing the life that the artist had given them.

A work by artist Ho Thiet Trinh.

I asked him about the painting that won the prize in the recent campaign to create and promote literary, artistic and journalistic works on the theme "Studying and following the moral example of Ho Chi Minh", he showed me the acrylic painting. The painting has 4 characters. He named it "One afternoon on the Lam River". A soldier is preparing to cross the Lam River to the battlefield. Seeing him off is his mother, his wife, and on his wife's shoulder, a sleeping child. He was silent. I was silent too. Because his painting itself said a lot. Thousands of families in Nghe An, thousands, tens of thousands of Vietnamese families have had such separations. The Lam River, which could be the Red River, the Day River, the Tra Ly River... in beloved Vietnam has been a witness to the lingering memories, the sacrifices, the heroism...

The story became more lively over a cup of green tea. He told me his life story and his memories of his career.

Artist Ho Thiet Trinh

But then, by chance, he was able to attend a 3-month drawing class organized by the Company. The class was taught by Mr. Van Tho and Mr. Nguyen Van Toan from Hanoi. For the first time, Thiet Trinh was able to learn painting techniques systematically. With his natural talent, he quickly applied it to the exercises. The colors aroused his passion. Thiet Trinh felt like a child again, eagerly standing next to the mossy wall and drawing in front of the curious and admiring eyes of many friends of the same age. He poured all of his desires and passion into his small drawings during the short time he studied painting in Thai Nguyen. Then, as a breakthrough, in 1978, Thiet Trinh decided to go to Hanoi with a friend to take the entrance exam to the College of Industrial Fine Arts. Painting entered his life from then on and became his confidant until later.

After graduating from the Fine Arts School in 1982, Thiet Trinh worked at Nghe An Publishing House as a designer and art editor until his retirement in 2011. During his time at the Publishing House, he also began experimenting with silk, gouache, oil paint, and wood carving. However, it was not until 1997 and 1998 that Ho Thiet Trinh began to paint extensively. The themes that he was particularly interested in during his artistic creation were revolutionary themes and labor themes.

Born in the hot and sunny Lao countryside, where people are industrious, patient, and willing to overcome hardships, in a land rich in revolutionary traditions, Thiet Trinh understands the hardships and poverty of the working people, appreciates their hard work and struggle, and above all, he finds beauty in the drops of sweat falling on their cheeks, the wrinkles that are thick with time, and the hands that are calloused by labor and wind. As a child, often following his friends to herd buffaloes on the banks of the Lam River, Thiet Trinh often saw people carrying sand, people digging, catching fish, catching shrimp...

He put those emotions into painting, as a way to express, as a desire to find a place to share, as a never-ending urge. And so silently, painting became Thiet Trinh's close friend, so that every morning when he woke up, the artist smiled and walked towards the easel as if returning to himself.

Ho Thiet Trinh’s first award-winning work was “White Day”, inspired by the times he saw people wandering around the street corners. It was a time of regime change, many people were downsized, lost their jobs in the state, and had to wander the streets waiting for jobs. “I saw eyes waiting, eyes sad,” Thiet Trinh said.

Then, when he returned home, the artist rushed to paint. The oil painting with the short and touching name "White Day" was born like that and was awarded the fine arts prize by the National Committee of the Vietnam Union of Literature and Arts Associations in 1999. Later, Thiet Trinh won many other awards such as the Third Prize of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association in 2000, the C Prize in 2002 and 2004 in the Regional Fine Arts Exhibition IV of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association, the A Prize of Ho Xuan Huong Literature and Arts of Nghe An province in 2002 and 2005, the Swedish - Vietnam Cultural Development Fund Award at the National Fine Arts Exhibition in 2005, the award of the Regional Fine Arts Exhibition IV in 2006, the C Prize, the Regional Fine Arts Exhibition IV in 2013, the award of the Regional Fine Arts Exhibition IV in 2014...

I asked the artist, among his many awards, which work and award he felt most passionate about and had the most memories with. Thiet Trinh told me about two of his memories associated with the paintings “White Day” and “Uncle Ho with Farmers”. If the painting “White Day” was inspired by history and labor, the painting “Uncle Ho with Farmers” (color powder) was inspired by revolution and leaders. Thiet Trinh did not paint many pictures of leaders, his works with revolutionary themes mainly depicted battles, soldiers, historical moments such as "Last Minute" (wood carving) depicting the heroic moments of soldiers entering to liberate Saigon in 1975, "Campaign Road" (wood carving) depicting soldiers in the Dien Bien Phu Campaign, "Rest" (wood carving) depicting soldiers' breaks on the mountainside, associated with Thiet Trinh's childhood memories of herding buffalo, seeing soldiers practicing... But in the painting "Uncle Ho with Farmers", Thiet Trinh painted without being constrained by the theme. The smooth, warm painting with hot, harmonious colors brought the viewer a beautiful feeling, respect and pride for Uncle Ho.

“As a son of Nghe An, I am proud to be born in Uncle Ho’s homeland. I painted that picture out of passion. Passion for the beauty of the homeland, for the simple, rustic, hardworking and honest farmers. Passion for the beauty of the leader’s love for the people.” Painter Thiet Trinh confided about the painting that won an award at the 2012 North Central Region Fine Arts Exhibition.

He also believes that painters in particular and artists in general not only need good techniques, but more importantly, they need to put emotion into their work. When creating, Ho Thiet Trinh pays great attention to the structure of the painting, and his paintings always have a solid composition. He does not limit himself to painting according to any school, but his own way of painting has a touch of realism and a bit of expressionism.

Later on, he tended to focus on wood carving, and indeed, Thiet Trinh's wood carvings achieved quite a lot of success. However, in other materials, even in acrylic, which is considered a "crossroads" in Ho Thiet Trinh's work, he is also highly appreciated by his friends in the industry. Now, although his health does not allow him to spend too much time painting, although painting is not a place where Thiet Trinh can consider a profession to make a living, he is still satisfied, because as he said, "even though I once deviated to another field, in the end I still returned to painting and lived with it for the rest of my life".

Saying goodbye to him, I wished him good health. He said that was what he needed most at the moment, to be able to continue painting. And painting is to live, to be passionate...

TV