Exhibition “Tò He”

Opening: Fri 21 Oct, 6 pm
Exhibition: 21 – 28 Oct 2011
Viet Art Centre

From Viet Art Centre:

You are invited to the 8^th solo exhibition of artist Le Kinh Tai titled “Tò He”. The exhibition displays 23 paintings and 9 sculptures of artist. You can read a part of a review about this exhibition by art critic, curator Nhu Huy and see some beautiful artworks in this exhibition below:

The title of the exhibition “Tò He”, which is also the 8^th solo exhibition of artist Lê Kinh Tài, inspires my reflections on the ontological aspect of the artist himself. Tò he (toy figurine) is a traditional toy for children in Vietnam that is made from glutinous rice powder in form of edible figurine such as animals, flowers or characters in folk stories. Tò he was made and sold mostly on festivals, especially the Tết and the Trung Thu, which are Vietnamese children’s favorites.

By the act of naming his show “Tò He”, it seems that Lê Kinh Tài would more or less aspire to make a metaphor of his work as an artist. In this metaphorical peruse, his own artwork and career are referred to the practice and product of a traditional artisan, who has not only never been isolated to life, but also by his talent and creativity, gives joy, imagination and passion to the world.

Definitely, seeing the series of artworks in this exhibition, which includes 23 paintings (the biggest is 200 cm x500 cm) and 9 sculptures (Lê Kinh Tài himself insists to call his 9 sculptures as 9 “Tò He”), one cannot help admiring, firstly to his working efforts, and secondly to the joy that these artworks are able to give.

Right at this moment that the fundamental metaphor of art as a magic wand which could immediately turn its audience into the children by just one single touch seems to be perfectly manifested. In the world which is day by day becoming older and uglier, the ability of becoming a child seems to be a necessary need, even a vital demand for us to survive.

Becoming a child, in a sense, is to return to our ability of being surprised, which we seem to forget as we get matured. Becoming a child is also to come back to the magic of life, to our ability of being moved deeply by the little things that our grown-up minds may consider to be too frivolous to be noticed

In these new paintings and sculptures of Lê Kinh Tài, the colors: Green, Blue, Yellow, Orange, Black, and White etc. seem to be no longer themselves anymore, just like the rice powder in the hand of the talented Tò he artisans, is no longer itself but lively animals and characters.  Lê Kinh Tài’s colors, by a magic way, now become vivid, resounded, sometime warmly, and sometime humorously. Even the texts written down directly by artist on the surface of some paintings, also by a magic way, no longer make any literature meaning but transform into the visual elements, without which the whole compositions can not be fully complete as they are and by which, release such a deep joy for us.