Red Thread – Bui Tien Tuan

Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam – Craig Thomas Gallery presents Red Thread, a solo exhibition of new ink and water color paintings on do paper by Saigon-based artist Bui Tien Tuan.

After nearly a decade of focusing on silk as the medium for his poetic, dream-like portraits of women, Tuan has taken an unexpected turn with his latest Red Thread series, appropriating the traditional medium of do paper with ink and watercolors. The artist insists, however, that the shift is not intended to be permanent. Rather it is a return to the “origins” of his career as a young artist during which time he was renowned for his do paper works.

Frivolity, Tuan’s well-received solo exhibition of silk paintings at CT Gallery in 2011, appealed to viewers due to the subtlety, composition and delicate textures of his portraits. Tuan has been strongly influenced by the Japanese form of wood block painting known as Ukiyo-e. The paintings of Red Thread echo the influence of this traditional Japanese art form, yet take it to an even greater depth through a more minimalist approach.

Floating in empty spaces dominated by the rough texture of the do paper, the women in Bui Tien Tuan’s Red Thread collection recline, crouch, and cavort in mid-air or over an invisible bed. In varying states of undress, there is inevitably a red thread in their delicate hands which spins around their semi-extended bare legs or their beautifully formed torsos. The facial features of Tuan’s women are sometimes visible and sometimes hidden by their hair or an averted gaze, allowing us to fantasize about their identity. For Tuan, the ever-present red thread is a line that links the viewer to his labyrinthine world of poetic sensuality.

Silk and do paper are fundamentally different materials and the use of both evidences Tuan’s craft mastery and range as an artist. Silk has a finer and softer look which imparts an untouchable quality to the skin of the women in Tuan’s earlier portraits. In contrast, do paper is full of textures and has a “relief” quality to it. On close inspection, the uneven surfaces of the Red Thread paintings hint at the real, stronger quality of actual skin with pores, fine hairs, and other small imperfections.

As in Tuan’s earlier work, the women in the Red Thread collection are “urban women.” These women, however, are less distant and unreachable. They are presented on a more personal and intimate level, allowing the viewer a more palpable experience of the artist’s world. While his silk portraits were a window into the artist’s dream world, the Red Thread paintings transport the viewer directly into this world where sensuality can be touched through the textures of the do paper.

Opening Reception: Thursday, 3 October 2013, from 6 to 9 pm

Exhibition Dates: 3 – 23 October, 2013

Location: Craig Thomas Gallery
27i Tran NhatDuat
Tan Dinh Ward, District 1
Ho Chi Minh City
www.cthomasgallery.com

Contacts: Craig (0903888431) or Mai (0908878317)
or info@cthomasgallery.com