The oil and water coulour paintings on paper and canvas and works made on airplane body parts taken from American B-52 aicraft are on display at Le Ba Dang Art Centre.
In May 2006, Dang presented the first 108 works to Hue. Both batches are now being displayed at the centre.
Under an agreement signed between the the 87-year-old artist and Thua Thien-Hue authority in March 2006, a French-style building at 12 Le Loi Street in Hue was transformed into the centre that features many of the creator’s works.
The facility houses the Le Ba Dang School of Art to teach art in his style.Part of the 1,420sq.m building is also used as a residence for Dang and his wife.
Dang is an exception among Vietnamese painters known abroad, as he was not a graduate of the Ecole Superieure des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine (the Indochina Fine Arts College). Except for a brief time at the Toulouse College of Fine Arts in 1945, Dang is self-taught.
In 1989, Dang received the Artist of Grand Talent and Humanity award from the Saint Louis Institute. Cambridge University placed him on a list of the most famous people in 1992-93. In 1994, the French government granted him the National Order for Literature and Arts.
Of the 15 most renown overseas Vietnamese artists, Dang won the prestigious “Viet Nam’s Glory” title awarded by the online newspaper VietnamNet and Viet Nam Television in 2005. His exhibitions have travelled the world.
The latest show is on exhibit at Le Ba Dang Art Centre, 15 Le Loi Street in Hue. — VNS
