The “Journey of Huỳnh Phương Đông” exhibition is a large-scale series introducing the creative journey of the late artist Huỳnh Phương Đông (1925–2015), focusing on wartime sketches, war-themed paintings, and works reflecting post-peace life. The exhibition is held at multiple venues: Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Museum (inaugural phase from March 15–30, 2025) and subsequently at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi (April 11–May 2, 2025), along with other display spaces in the event series.
Context & Inspiration of the Exhibition
The exhibition series launches on major anniversaries: 100 years since the artist’s birth (1925–2025), 100 years of the Indochina School of Fine Arts, and leading up to the 50th anniversary of the Liberation of the South (April 30, 1975–April 30, 2025). The program’s concept is to revive “wartime memories,” capturing moments, people, and sentiments through the quick, honest sketching style of an artist-soldier.
Artist Huỳnh Phương Đông & Creative Journey
Huỳnh Phương Đông (real name Huỳnh Công Nhãn, 1925–2015) is a distinctive figure in modern Vietnamese fine arts. He was both an artist and a soldier, bearing the dual mission: fighting and documenting the war through painting. Amidst bombs and bullets, his pencil and sketchbook accompanied him across battlefields, turning swift strokes into vivid witnesses of history.
The vast body of work he left behind spans sketches, watercolors, oils, and emotional drafts. Each piece is not just a painting but a diary page in colors and lines, recreating both heroic moments and the simple daily life of people in wartime. Thanks to his perseverance, honesty, and passion for art, Huỳnh Phương Đông is regarded as a rare “witness through paintings,” etching his mark not only in art history but in the nation’s collective memory.
Space & Display Method at the “Journey of Huỳnh Phương Đông” Exhibition
The exhibition unfolds like a book of memories, with each room as a separate chapter:
- Opening section: Introduces wartime sketches—portraits of soldiers, marching scenes, war zone activities.
- Following section: Recreates post-peace life, along with works from overseas trips.
- Closing section: Displays late-period works, rich in professional reflections and contemplations.
Some spaces in the “Journey of Huỳnh Phương Đông” exhibition are dedicated to quick sketches in ink and watercolor, allowing viewers to feel the rapid sketching rhythm and the “painting diary” quality. Additionally, the exhibition includes artwork restoration activities and introduces accompanying monographs, expanding the experiential depth for audiences.
Featured Works Displayed at the Exhibition
In the “Journey of Huỳnh Phương Đông” series, each venue offers a unique slice, helping the public see the richness in the artist’s techniques and emotional depth.
In Ho Chi Minh City (March 15–30, 2025)
The opening exhibition in Ho Chi Minh City introduces 146 representative works, arranged by the artist’s creative journey during resistance years. Mostly wartime sketches, quick drafts in pencil, ink, and watercolor, recording soldier portraits, marching scenes, and war zone life.
Viewers also encounter large-scale oil paintings like “Victory at Ấp Bắc,” recreating the heroic momentum of Southern military and civilians. In this space, audiences step into a “living memory museum,” where each stroke tells the war story with direct emotion.
In Hanoi (April 11–May 2, 2025)
Moving north, the exhibition brings over 150 works, selected from a treasury of about 700 paintings and sketches. Beyond war themes, the Hanoi display expands to post-unification creative phases.
Audiences can admire paintings reflecting everyday peaceful life: street scenes, villages, human portraits with optimistic, rebuilding spirits. The display is designed chronologically, guiding viewers from wartime heroism to society’s transformation in peace, fully experiencing the artist’s lifelong artistic journey.
Featured Works on Display
This is a rare opportunity for the public to access multiple creative phases at once, from battlefield sketches to everyday works and post-peace national reflections. Accompanying the paintings are documents, photos, and personal artifacts, contributing to a comprehensive recreation of an artist-soldier’s journey.
The Journey of Huỳnh Phương Đông is not just a look back at a great artist’s career but also a reunion for the public with historical memories told through the language of fine arts.
