The “Listening to the stories of fabric” fine arts exhibition opens a unique space where fabric becomes a medium to tell emotional stories. With a distinctive artistic language, artist Tran Thanh Thuc transforms familiar fabric pieces into poetic works, evoking memories, affections, and cultural depths.
Introduction to the “Listening to the stories of fabric” Exhibition
The “Listening to the stories of fabric” exhibition invites viewers into a distinctive artistic world where fabric is no longer just everyday material but a vibrant language. In artist Tran Thanh Thuc’s hands, each fabric piece is selected, pieced together, and cherished to become words, rhythms, and memory pages.
Each work is more than a painting; it’s like a story “told” by fabric threads—sometimes soft, sometimes rugged, sometimes brilliant, sometimes quiet. Fabric retains the breath of time, carrying life’s imprints, so when combined, they create an artistic space both familiar and novel.
“Listening to the stories of fabric” is thus not just a visual exhibition but an emotional experience. It evokes memories, guiding viewers back to homeland fragments, childhood, family. At the same time, it opens new reflections on the continuity between past and present in Vietnamese cultural life.
- Time: April 02, 2025 – April 08, 2025
- Location: Floor 1, Building B, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum – 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi
Introduction to Artist Tran Thanh Thuc
Artist Tran Thanh Thuc is one of the representative figures in contemporary Vietnamese fine arts, prominent for her style using fabric as the primary creative material. She has spent many years researching, experimenting, and persevering with this unique artistic path, turning painting into a journey of storytelling through fabric.
For Tran Thanh Thuc, each fabric piece is not merely material but a “living memory.” She seeks, selects, and connects them, allowing fabric to become music notes, words in the artistic epic. The works in this exhibition are the result of a long creative labor journey, where she infuses soul into each thread, evoking philosophical depths and poetry in painting.
Space & Display Method of the Exhibition
The exhibition space is designed so that viewers can feel the fabric from many angles. The soft lighting highlights the roughness, softness, and rusticity of each piece of fabric, making viewers feel the “breath” of the material.
The works are displayed by theme, from compositions that evoke memories of homeland and daily life, to works rich in generality and abstraction. The open, deep layout creates a continuous visual journey so that when passing through each corner of the exhibition, the audience seems to be listening to a new story from the fabric material.
The exhibition “Listening to the stories of fabric” by artist Tran Thanh Thuc is an invitation for the public to enter a unique world of art, where ordinary materials are elevated into a rich expressive language. Through each work, we not only see the skillful hands of the artist, but also hear the echoes of Vietnamese memories, emotions and culture.
This is an exhibition not only for art lovers, but also for anyone who appreciates the beauty of life and wants to find lasting values woven from memories and love.
Materials Used in the “Listening to the stories of fabric” Exhibition
A standout feature of “Listening to the stories of fabric” is Tran Thanh Thuc’s innovative use of fabric as the core material. She transforms ordinary fabrics into profound artistic expressions, each piece carrying its own story.
In her hands, each seemingly simple piece of fabric becomes a “paint” rich in evocative power. The roughness, softness, rusticity or shine of the fabric brings a special visual effect and touch that ordinary colors can hardly replace.
Not only a material surface, fabric is also a memory: it can be the fabric of the old ao dai, the floral fabric on the pillow, the brown fabric of the ao ba, or patterns that evoke traditional culture. When combining them, the artist both “tells” stories of life and creates a new painting language – soft, profound, and imbued with poetry.
With this approach, fabric is no longer an auxiliary material, but becomes the soul of the work. It preserves time, contains memories and opens up new layers of meaning for the viewer.
Some Featured Works at the Exhibition
In the “Listening to the stories of fabric” exhibition, each work is a memory fragment, a story written in fabric. A few representative creations create special highlights for the display space:
- “Ky Uc Lang Que” (Village Memories): Rustic, simple fabric pieces pieced into expansive fields, winding rivers, and hidden houses behind bamboo groves. The painting reflects childhood for many Vietnamese generations, evoking peaceful village familiarity.
- “Sac Mau Pho Co” (Old Quarter Colors): With vibrant colors and delicate piecing, the work recreates ancient town atmosphere: mossy tiled roofs, winding alleys, and slow-paced life. The effect transports viewers strolling through old quarters, with nostalgia flooding back in memory colors.
- “Dang Me” (Mother’s Form): Created from somber brown fabric combined with simple patterns, forming the image of a genuine, gentle Vietnamese mother. It’s the diligent sitting posture, silent diligence, embracing arms of warmth—eternal symbol of love and sacrifice.
- “Thoi Gian” (Time): Abstract work from multiple layered fabrics, sometimes blurred, sometimes clear, evoking feelings of reincarnation and endless continuation. Each fabric layer like a time step, where memories and present blend, leaving viewers a profound, endless aftertaste.
Each work is a separate story, but placed together, they create a symphony of memories and emotions. There, fabric is not just material but storytelling language, gentle, truthful, and evocative.
The “Listening to the stories of fabric” exhibition by artist Tran Thanh Thuc is an invitation to enter a unique artistic world, where material is elevated to expressive language. Through each work, we not only see the artist’s skillful hands but hear echoes of memories, affections, and Vietnamese culture in poetry.
