artLIVE – The ‘Abstract painting: Father and Son’ exhibition introduces nearly 30 works by the late artist Ho Huu Thu and artist Ho Hong Linh, opening a dialogue between two creative generations. The exhibition leads viewers on a journey to discover the inner world and the pure beauty of painting.
The ‘lacquer magician’ and the journey back to the psyche
Ho Huu Thu, born in 1940 in Binh Duong, was one of the pioneering figures of contemporary Vietnamese art. Known as a “lacquer magician”, he was someone who elevated the traditional Vietnamese lacquer (sơn ta) material beyond its decorative constraints, turning it into a language of philosophy and meditation.
For him, lacquer was not just a material, but a spiritual realm. Within the layers of lacquer—piled up, sanded down and revealed—he found the breath of time, the subconscious and the inner self. Each of Ho Huu Thu’s works is like a small universe where the material world dissolves, leaving only the subtle movements of energy, light and emotion.
His artistic philosophy was always linked to contemplation: “The truth in art lies not in the outside world, but in the subconscious, mythical world of inner feelings. There, creativity opens up a new internal world, where only Truth – Goodness – Beauty remain.”
He viewed painting as a means of spiritual enlightenment, a place where one could find stillness and recognize oneself. On that journey, abstract painting was not about “abandoning form”, but a way of finding the primordial form of emotions and ideas, where all boundaries between reality and imagination, between form and light, become blurred.
The spirit of inheritance and a dialogue between two generations
After more than half a century of diligent creation, Ho Huu Thu left behind not only a treasury of precious lacquer works but also a profound spiritual legacy for the Vietnamese art scene. This exhibition takes place exactly one year after his passing, serving as a tribute and commemoration of an artist who lived his entire life for beauty.
Accompanying Ho Huu Thu’s name in the exhibition is his son, artist Ho Hong Linh, who continues the creative journey with his own language while retaining his father’s philosophical spirit. If, for Ho Huu Thu, painting was an inward journey to find the invisible, for Ho Hong Linh, abstraction expands into dimensions of expression and visual communion.
In Ho Hong Linh’s compositions, we encounter a gentle shift from lacquer to oil, like a dialogue between tradition and modernity, between stillness and movement, between father and son. The interweaving planes of dark and light shades in Ho Hong Linh’s paintings not only evoke physical sensations but also awaken spiritual echoes, where the “unfamiliar” is found not in the external world, but in the viewer’s own subconscious.
As the late artist Ho Huu Thu once shared: “Abstract painting is an authentic reality that already exists in everyone’s psyche, coming forth when all hopeless agitations of the artist and the viewer have ceased.” For him, the unfamiliarity of abstract art lies not in the painting, but in the deep, hidden subconscious within each person; art becomes a journey to find one’s own truth.
The unceasing flow of creativity
Ho Huu Thu once said: “Painting is an evening sky of a pure soul full of Truth, causing us to suddenly brighten and be purified in a daze of passionate enchantment”. This statement can be seen as the guiding spirit of the exhibition. Each work is not just to be seen, but is a doorway leading into the depths of the human psyche.
There, the viewer not only sees the mastery of a “lacquer magician” but also feels the continuous flow between two generations of artists, father and son, both aiming for the eternal values of beauty and truth.
The “Abstract painting: Father and Son” exhibition does not stop at displaying works; it also evokes contemplation on the nature of creativity, the relationship between art and life and between memory and the present. In that space, every layer of lacquer, every stroke of color and every moment of silence becomes a metaphor for time, for memory and for the unending journey of beauty.
As the father, Ho Huu Thu, chose painting as his path to inner truth, the son, Ho Hong Linh, continues that path with understanding and gratitude. Between them, art is not just an inheritance but a wordless dialogue that stretches through time, where the creative spirit continues to be nurtured, to spread and to live on.
This exhibition is therefore not just an artistic event, but a symphony of memory, spirituality and heritage, where painting becomes the bridge connecting the past and the present, connecting humanity with the invisible realm of emotion.
Photo: 22 Gallery
