The painting and sculpture exhibition Once Upon a Time by 16 artists of the Heritage and Art Group opens in Hanoi on August 23, featuring 39 paintings, prints, and sculptures in various materials including metal, oil painting, silk, bamboo paper, ceramics, and lacquer.

They present paintings inspired by Hanoi's heritage, such as the 500-year-old Cuu Village in Phu Xuyen District, water puppet show, lotus pond, pagodas, Hanoi Old Quarter, and Thang Long Imperial Citadel, among others.

As the initiator and founder of the group, artist Nguyen Minh said, "Once Upon a Time is not only the introduction to countless fairy tales, but here it is the beginning of the heritage story that each artist with a different artistic style wants to tell to the viewers through the language of art."

Artists in the Heritage and Art group. Photo: Ngo Minh/The Hanoi Times

In this story, there are not only images of ancient motifs and patterns, characters of water puppets, images of village community house carvings, and folk paintings... but also layers of history, and values of Vietnamese cultural heritage told through the perspective of contemporary art.

"Combining the language of visual arts to honor the values of the heritage left by our ancestors, this very interesting but also extremely difficult theme will be a long road that we are determined to follow with the passion and artistic personalities that have been formed for a long time," artist Minh told The Hanoi Times.

To be able to pursue the project, the artists in the group will organize field trips to collect documents, direct drawing trips, and meetings with characters to learn more deeply about the value of Vietnamese cultural heritage. They will also hold workshops to introduce art to children and young people.

Time's Trace inspired by Cuu Village in Hanoi, by painter Chu Cuong.

According to painter Minh, the project was supported by Thao Nguyen Company and Ana Mandara Villas Da Lat with the desire to promote Vietnamese cultural heritage through art.

Nguyen Anh Minh, Director of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, said he was very impressed with the path chosen by the artists. Painting and cultural heritage are themes that inspire but also present difficulties for artists, and few artists in the past have opted to work on them for an extended period of time.

"As a national museum of fine arts, we will accompany and support the artists participating in the project in many ways, possibly in terms of exhibition venues, possibly in terms of purchasing quality works that meet the criteria to be included in the museum's collection," said Minh.

Kinnaras, the bamboo paper painting by Cao Phuong Thao.

The Heritage and Art (H&A) group consists of 16 artists from generations 7X to 9X, with their own distinct creative styles and certain positions in the Vietnamese contemporary art scene.

The exhibition runs until August 27 at the Exhibition House, 29 Hang Bai Street, Hanoi.