Vietnamese woodblock art exhibit opens September 12
Dinh Luc Vietnamese Woodblock Prints Exhibition
Original prints of internationally renowned Vietnamese woodblock artist Dinh Luc will be on display from September through November at the Radford University Art Museum on 214 Tyler Avenue. The exhibit will open on September 12 at 6:00 p.m. with a free public reception, and will run through November 3, 2018.
Dinh Luc is an award-winning Vietnamese artist whose works have been on display in Japan, France, Poland, Vietnam, Russia, Germany, the United States, and the Czech Republic. He is most well known for his woodblock folk art depicting scenes and symbolism from Vietnamese culture. From traditional festivals and temples to traditional folklore, Luc's works embrace the charms, customs and history of his birthplace, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Luc was born in 1945, and was a child when France was defeated and pushed out of Vietnam, leading to a series of military conflicts that would bring communist rule to the country. His artistic exploration is frequently seeded by childhood memories of the beauty of his homeland before much of it was destroyed through decades of war. Common themes within his works deal with architectural styles that were prominent during Luc's youth, but are rarely found in modern Vietnam. He also explores Vietnam's beauty and culture through imagery and symbolism depicting farming, agriculture and slices of village life.
Having earned a doctoral degree in philosophy, Luc's works frequently offer an allegory of eastern philosophical constructs, most often representing five elements of eastern philosophy; metal, wood, water, fire and earth. He accomplishes this utilizing restrained color palettes and simple, symbolic designs that are representative of his subject matter.
Luc's woodblock prints are created through a lengthy process of sketching designs on wood, then carving into the block. He layers colors onto the wood and repeatedly presses paper onto the carvings in order to create his finished pieces. Luc hand presses all of his prints, ensuring that, even when the designs are taken from the same carved block, they will not look the same in terms of color, patterning and design. Thus each of his prints are unique pieces of art.
A selection of Luc's woodblock prints will be on display starting at 6:00pm on September 12 through November 3, 2018 at the Radford University Art Museum on 214 Tyler Ave. The exhibit offers a great opportunity to glimpse Vietnamese culture through the imagination of an internationally renowned artisan. Gallery hours are Monday through Friday 10:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m., and Saturday from noon to 4:00 p.m. Admission is free.