Paintings featuring the unique feathery expression of famous Japanese
artist Iwasaki Chihiro are being displayed at an exhibition in Hanoi.
Hosted by the the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural
Exchange in Vietnam, the exhibition “Iwasaki Chihiro and Vietnam ”
showcases 40 of her most-prized artworks, 32 of which are being seen
in Vietnam for the first time.
Iwasaki Chihiro
(1918-74) is one of the most beloved Japanese artists/illustrators in
the world, celebrated for her unique ethereal aura combining Eastern
Indian-ink painting and a Western water colour painting. The
warm-hearted artist had great affection for children, who were to become
the major inspiration for her paintings. Alongside paintings about
children, the show also consists of artworks depicting flowers – another
of her favourite inspirations.
According to deputy
director of the Chihiro Art Museum Azumino, Yuko Takesako, who flew
from Japan to attend the exhibition’s opening on September 28 in Hanoi,
the artist grew many kinds of flowers in her garden and the variety of
flowers bloomed all year round to serve as an ideal source of
imagination.
The exhibition, which is open to the
public until October 27 at 27 Quang Trung Street, also displays some
paintings from her pictures books.
Throughout her
career, Chihiro created about 40 picture books – some based on Japanese
fairy tales and those written by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen,
as well as some picturing the daily lives of children and babies. She
also created a picture book based on the Vietnamese novel “Nguoi me cam
sung” (A mother and her rifle) by Nguyen Thi.
In the
Children in the Flames of War – one of her most important works –
Chihiro not only drew the illustrations but also wrote the text, drawing
inspiration from the American War in Vietnam. She wrote the book while
she was battling illness.
Having survived World War
2, Chihiro was anxious about children’s wellbeing throughout her life,
leaving behind the words: “May Vietnamese children, Japanese children
and children all over the world live in peace and happiness”.
“Over 40 years have passed since Chihiro passed away. Are we living in
peace and happiness now? We hope this exhibition will provide you a
good opportunity to look back over our lives, through the world of
Iwasaki Chihiro who loved +plentiful, peaceful, beautiful and cute+
things all through her time on earth,” said at the opening director of
the Japan Foundation Centre for Cultural Exchange in Vietnam Inami
Kazumi.-VNA