QUIET LAKE SURFACE
…is the next project created after the solo exhibition “Wind and Water” 2021. In this exhibition I present 17 works created from 2022 until today. The following materials are used: lacquer and oil paint as well as acrylic.
So far, “Quiet Lake Surface” is a project that is being developed in a different direction than “Wind and Water”: the exploration of historical issues related to the history of the post-Vietnam War and the changes in modern social life in a global context.
Even though the war in my home country was almost 50 years ago, its traces are still there. The bomb crater is one of the remaining typical historical traces that we can see and observe directly in nature. Over time, they have changed their appearance and turned into small lakes in fields or gardens. From a painful history that preserves many sad memories, we have transformed these “lakes” today into aquaculture areas to grow rice or breed fish. Based on this, I developed this idea into a concept for this exhibition and built the work in three different layout structures.
The paintings in this project represent the surface of the lake that I painted in a moment of a peaceful and emotional afternoon. The specific image of a bomb crater lake no longer appears directly here, it is only a key concept for me in the design of this series of artworks. Instead, the audience sees only horizontal water motifs running across the surface of the painting, together with vague, ordered spatial arrangements. The motif I created came from observing the movement of waves and water in nature. Next, I have stylized it, abstracted the space and enlarged it to create a visual impression and feeling of moving and floating on the surface of the painting. Through the technique of thinly painting many overlapping layers of acrylic material, using airbrush painting technique, combined with a top layer of oil paint, depicted in geometric space using abstract expressionism, I created the composition structure no. 1.
Picture 01
Composition structure no. 2
This is an extension of structure no. 1 and is innovatively renewed in terms of expression. This structure is a further development of the painting series “Wind and Water” (2021). They arise from contrasting relationships between natural and philosophical phenomena such as sun and rain, light and darkness, day and night, yin and yang, men and women, etc.
The entire work is divided into two separate parts and logically connected by threads. From the basic compositions in painting, I have used the method of variation in figures, repetition in motifs, cutting holes in the painting surface (collage) and eliminating unnecessary excess surface. As a result, the entire structure of the work interacts directly with the natural environment outside. At the same time, I also strive for a new structure in modern painting, expressed with traditional lacquer materials. The entire structure above is based on the graphic language and is developed in a vertical direction of geometric abstract painting.
Picture 02
Based on conceptual painting and the theoretical combination of fractal geometry, motifs are repeated to create the outline of the third structure. This transforms the entire work into a search for a beginning and an end. The focus of colour and light is deliberately distributed over the entire surface. With a thickness of 80 cm, the work protrudes from the wall surface, creating a geometric wooden structure. The surface of the work is no longer flat, like the two 2D structures mentioned above, but is on the verge of transforming into 3D. At present, it is difficult for the public to clearly determine the boundaries between painting and sculpture. At the same time, the work plays a role in expanding the boundary from painting to sculpture to installation art. Thus, the work contributes to create a healing connection in the rupture between the forms of visual arts in Vietnam.
The work “Wave” expresses itself through a relief-like thick layer of paint material and is also the first step in preparing the next development direction of the future spatial project.
Picture 03
Bonn, Germany 2024
Van Son Le
