The exhibition Tet Ty (Year of  Snake) opened this week at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, presenting 80 works of various genres and materials by the G39 group to welcome the New Year.

Snakes on pottery by painter Hoang Phuong Lien. Photo: Ngo Minh/The Hanoi Times

According to the curator, artist Le Thiet Cuong, the snake is one of the 12 zodiac animals of the year. The snake has a special meaning different from the other 11 animals. The snake is very close to Buddhism, the worship of snakes is a primitive belief of the Vietnamese people who revered the animal as a totem and water god.

The fear of snakes has led people to deify this species, to worship it in the hope that it will protect them. This belief is prevalent in fairy tales, legends, customs, literature, architecture, fine arts, and more.

"Don't take the snake literally, don't look at snake pictures to see snakes. Otherwise you will be looking but not seeing. Summer, fall, winter, and then spring. The four seasons flow, it is also the cyclical coming and going. It is also the miracle of heaven and earth. The four seasons are time but also space, the scenery and people's hearts are different in every season," said artist Le Thiet Cuong.

It is in this spirit that the 10th annual exhibition of the G39 group also presents a variety of works on many different themes, in addition to the paintings of snakes.

Curator Le Thiet Cuong (right) and painter Hoang Phuong Lien at the exhibition. Photo: Ngo Minh/The Hanoi Times

According to curator  Le Thiet Cuong, spring is just around the corner, awakening people's emotions. The same is true for artists, who look forward to a new year and a new season filled with ideas, plans, and creative endeavors.

In addition to the image of snakes in paintings and sculptures by artist Le Thiet Cuong, or in the ceramic vases and jars of Huong Canh village by Nguyen Hong Quang, other works have painted images of nature bustling with colorful landscapes and people.

From the serene countryside of Nguyen Thanh Quang, to the still lifes and vibrant flowers of Binh Nhi; from the landscape of apricot and plum blossoms in the highlands by Vuong Linh; to the joyous arrival of the festival with artists Viet Anh and Hoang Phuong Lien; to the excitement of folk games (tug of war, dragon and snake ascending to the clouds) in the traditional festival atmosphere of Cu Da village through paintings by Nguyen Quoc Thang;  the exhibition presents a lively unfolding of new year festivals.

The exhibition will be on display until January 3, 2025 at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ba Dinh District, Hanoi.

The exhibition features works by 16 artists: Binh Nhi, Vuong Linh, Le Thu Huong, Hoang Phuong Lien, Nguyen Minh, Nguyen Quoc Thang, Nguyen Hong Quang, Viet Anh, Tran Giang Nam, Tran Gia Tung, Nguyen Thanh Quang, Tran Hong Duc, Doan Hoang Lam, Le Thiet Cuong, Tao Linh, Hong Viet Dung, on many materials: Oil paint, gouache, do paper, acrylic, sculpture, Huong Canh pottery, Bat Trang pottery, among others.