Vietnamese artist portrays ‘strong women’ in paintings

Hanoi (VNA) – Vu Bach Lien will join another 21 artists from around the world in an exhibition titled Equilibrio that kicks off on March 1 in Malaysia.

The artists include Andrialis Abdul Rahman (Malaysia), Elena Kravchenko (Russia), Karma Sirikogar (Thailand), Laksmi Shitaresmi (Indonesia), Lhean Villanueva (The Philippines) and Veronika Neukirch (Germany).

Lien said she felt honoured to attend the exhibition and meet other female artists from around the world.

"It's a chance for us to learn from each other, learn about different cultures and share our opinions and experiences," she said.

The exhibition features two of Lien's paintings, entitled Duong Tuyet (Road of Snow) and Tinh (Tranquility).

"Women play different roles in society. They take care of the family, raise children, go into business and build up society. They have to find a balance between roles."

In her work, an image of a woman holding a red umbrella walking between snowy trees symbolises a strong woman with independence and pride, she said.

"She's small in comparison with the landscape but she's brilliant," said Lien.

The exhibition is the first of a planned series of annual exhibitions held surrounding International Women's Day, to highlight the important role female artists play in the arts, often overlooked and frequently under-represented.

The opening ceremony will honour Angela Hijjas, well known within the arts community for her work with private art centre Rimbun Dahan.

Hijjas came to Malaysia in 1972 as an Australian volunteer and then worked in town planning. She married architect Hijjas Kasturi, and they have operated Rimbun Dahan where Malaysian and regional artists stay for periods between a month and a year developing their practice.

The exhibition will run until March 8 at White Box, Map@ Publika, the art gallery centre in Kuala Lumpur.-VNA