“Inside out” – a journey to explore abstract painting

Starting with a group exhibition in Hanoi in the early 2000s, Tran Le Nam is a familiar name in the art world because he has his own unique, strong, and decisive style that is true to the personality of a "street kid".

Painter Tran Le Nam (right) at his first solo exhibition. Photo: T.Huong

Before coming to abstract painting, Tran Le Nam was passionate about impressionism and expressionism, also exploring to find a path that suits his temperament and aesthetic perspective. He studied books on his own, especially from his rich life experiences and continuous practice. At the Exit group exhibition in 2005, artist Tran Le Nam exhibited his first abstract paintings, opening a two-decade journey of practicing abstract painting.

Explaining the title of the exhibition “From the inside out”, artist Tran Le Nam said: “Art must present the core nature hidden under the outer shell of material reality. When studying natural structures, I found them extremely rich. In terms of lines, there are horizontal, vertical, twisted, curved, open, closed, overlapping… there are individual lines and combinations of lines. The same goes for shapes, there are individual shapes and combinations of combined shapes; there are colors and sets of colors; multi-dimensional, multi-rhythmic… When grasping the structure of natural objects, artists can destroy the external form, actively restructure, rearrange in their own order and through that process, can express the inner self. Those thoughts and studies led me to abstract art”.

Enjoying the works of artist Tran Le Nam. Photo: T.Huong

The exhibition presents works created by the artist in two phases. Phase 2018-2022 includes paintings formed by the operation of “taking away” – scraping, scraping, removing layers of paint to exploit the structure of the object. Phase 2022-2025, the paintings are built with many overlapping layers of paint, thick, opaque, heavy, creating an effect that is both illusory and mechanical.

The two stages are opposite, but still meet in a consistent aesthetic concept, which is to aim for a rough, strong beauty, to emphasize generality, and to value spirit over detail.

Researcher and art critic Vu Huy Thong commented that for Tran Le Nam, the practice of abstract painting is a long, persistent and consistent journey. He does not follow market trends, but is steadfast in his own creative ideal, both restructuring reality and conveying personal thoughts. This is what makes this exhibition special.

At the age of over 60, after decades of diligent creation, artist Tran Le Nam is still steadfast in his path of abstract painting. “When creating, one can paint the same picture over and over again until one reaches ecstasy. Images from life are very rich, we only need the eyes and heart to discover its beauty and give it a spirit, to have a work of art,” the artist shared.

As the first solo exhibition, “Going from inside out” is also the artistic manifesto of artist Tran Le Nam, demonstrating his passion on the creative journey.

The exhibition runs until October 11.

Some works at the exhibition: