Nguyen Trung (Vietnamese, born 1940) Mango Garden

Nguyen Trung (Vietnamese, born 1940)
Mango Garden
2013

signed N.T. Trung (lower left)
oil on canvas

80 x 65 cm (31 1/2 x 25 5/8 in)

This work is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity issued by Galerie Nguyen, HCMC, Vietnam.
Provenance
Galerie Nguyen, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Acquired from the above by the present owner in 2013
Private Collection, Europe

阮忠
芒果園
油彩 畫布
2013年作

簽名：N.T. Trung (左下)

此作附越南胡志明市Galerie Nguyen畫廊開立之作品保證書

來源
越南胡志明市Galerie Nguyen藝廊
現藏家於2013年得自上述來源
歐洲私人收藏

Nguyen Trung is an influential Vietnamese artist whose career has spanned more than six decades. Having developed a unique and innovative style that blends European Rationalism and Oriental philosophy, he is widely regarded as a pioneer of abstract art in Vietnam.

Born in 1940 in Soc Trang, a province in the Mekong Delta region of Vietnam, Nguyen Trung showed an early interest and talent in art. In 1956, he enrolled in the Gia Dinh Fine Arts School in Saigon (now Ho Chi Minh City), where he studied under the famous painter Nguyen Gia Tri (1908-1993). He graduated in 1961 and became a teacher at the same school. In 1966, he co-founded the Young Artists Association, a vanguard art group in Saigon.

Early in his career, Nguyen Trung primarily worked with oil on canvas, employing a vibrant and refreshing colour palette reminiscent of romantic realism. He devoted himself to figurative painting, and predominantly depicted charming, graceful, and lyrical female figures in a serene natural setting brimming with blossoms and fruit. His works were thus infused with a sense of nostalgia and reverie.

Nguyen Trung was influenced by Western art movements, such as Cubism, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism. He also studied the Eastern artistic traditions, such as Chinese calligraphy, Japanese Zen painting, and Vietnamese folk art. Combining these various inspirations, he began to develop his own abstract style, which he called "Abstract Lyricism".

His "Abstract Lyricism" is characterised by simple forms, subtle colours, and rich textures. With circles, squares, and lines, he produces harmonious and balanced compositions. The use of a subtle and refined colour palette, often monochrome or with a few contrasting tones, creates a poetic and meditative atmosphere. He applies the paint with various tools, such as brushes, knives, and spatulas, sometimes using his hands to scratch, smear, or rub the surface. This results in the paintings' textured effect.

Nguyen Trung's abstract paintings are heavily influenced by his intellectual involvement with Buddhism, as well as his personal experiences and memories. He often incorporates elements and motifs from his culture and his surroundings, such as lotus flowers, bamboo trees, pagodas, and letters. Through his style and subjects, the artist reflects on universal themes such as time, nature, and spirituality.