A spring day, adoring respectfully to the image of Buddha and the realm of the Triratna on Silk by two female artists Nguyen Thi Hoang Minh and Lam Tu Tran, we suddenly feel peaceful and purity at heart. It is somehow familiar but very personal and different.
Bright colors that are subtle enough to not be overwhelming. Along with it, there are layers of juxtaposition patterns that are meticulous, suddenly blurred and then suddenly unveiled, opening up the vastness of the pure land while ignoring ego-grasping ideas of time to enter the boundless. Each order of the nuance is smooth, flexible, and delicate; they blend in and lurk into each other, infinite and warm, evoking a multilayered meditation space on the medium of silk.
The artworks, inspired from ancient Buddhist paintings, absorbing the standards from the Buddha image on ancient statues, achieved the rigor and dignity of composition, rules of character and proportion, but still evoke a difference in form.
The artists transform those figures - Buddha Adi, Shakyamuni, Maitreya, or Bodhisattva, into the “Shravakas’s appearance" by our side, within us, each becomes personal and distinctive, beyond the traditional aesthetic perception; with Buddha faces that are holy, light, close, and ordinary, softly and chubby, refreshing and full. It seems that when each of us has a heart of generosity and compassion, the Buddha form is always present.
Hoang Minh and Tu Tran's silk paintings with Buddhist themes are not meant to be spiritual artworks for worshiping but rather to depict the Buddha's likeness in their hearts and express their thoughts as young individuals
Stemmed from the pure love for Buddha, the mind towards mindfulness, the enlightened mind that transcends the distinction between samsara or nirvana, the two young artists have inherited the quintessence of Buddhism from their ancestors and put into it their own way of thinking, painting, expression and interpretation. This can be considered as the success of two female artists when creating silk paintings on this particular subject.
As we contemplate the collection, we immerse in that sacred realm, leaning on the waves at the feet of the Bodhisattva, nestling next to the magical three-world lotus, admiring at the Nianhua Smile, in order to feel peace, to transform Buddha Adi's mind, to maintain concentration and to seek clarity.
In other words, Buddha guards each of our transient lives and is by our sides at all times.
“Precepts – Concentration – Wisdom to escape Saha”
Faith – Happiness – Wishing to be born in the Pure Land"
Hanoi, January, Year of the Cat - 2023
Artist VU DINH TUAN