Tran Luu Hau (Vietnamese, 1928-2020) Cat Ba Shore

Tran Luu Hau (Vietnamese, 1928-2020)
Cat Ba Shore
2004

signed and dated hau 04 (lower right)
oil on canvas

80 x 100 cm (31 1/2 x 39 3/8 in)

The work is accompanied with a certificate of authenticity issued by Arch Angel Art Gallery, dated May 8, 2008.
Provenance
Arch Angel Art, Hong Kong
Acquired from the above by the present owner
Private collection, Hong Kong

陳留厚
卡巴島岸邊
油彩 畫布
2004年作

簽名：hau 04（右下）

此作附香港Arch Angel畫廊開立之作品保證書

來源
香港Arch Angel畫廊
現藏家得自上述來源
香港私人收藏

Tran Luu Hau was an influential Vietnamese artist known for his bold brushstrokes of vibrant colours and his dedication to abstraction. He studied fine arts at the Resistance Fine Arts School in Viet Bac, a revolutionary base in Northern Vietnam, under the guidance of the pioneer artist To Ngoc Van (1906-1954). Having experienced and actively engaged in both the first Indochina War (1946-1954) and the Vietnam War (1955-1975), his life and art profoundly mirrored the political upheavals and resulting cultural shifts of the time.

Between 1955 and 1962, he studied art and theatre design at the Surikov Fine Arts Institute of Moscow. During this period, he was exposed to modern Western art, particularly those produced by post-impressionist and abstract expressionist artists such as Henri Matisse, Chaim Soutine, and Willem de Kooning. Inspired by them, he used the term "abstraction of reality" to describe his own emerging aesthetic approach. Skilfully blending bold brushstrokes and vivid colours in his paintings, he developed an abstract style focused on expressing his feelings, philosophy, and personal experiences. He would thus also re-interpret traditional themes, infusing them with emotional depth. Both sensual and personal, themes he recurrently portrayed throughout his career include flowers, nudes, and self-portraits. The love he held for his country is also highlighted by numerous landscape paintings depicting not only his hometown, Hanoi, but also various locations in Vietnam, such as Sapa, Ha Long Bay, and Cat Ba Island.

After his return to Vietnam, Hau spent three decades teaching at the Hanoi College of Fine Arts, training generations of young Vietnamese artists. Many of his works are in collections of the Vietnam War Museum, the Vietnam National Fine Arts Museum, and many private and public collections around the world. In his career spanning over half a century, Tran Luu Hau has indeed established himself as one of the most celebrated Vietnamese artists.