An 80-year-old man is still passionate about art creation

Although he is 80 years old, painter Le Khanh Thong is engrossed in his artistic passions. He said: “Every time I finish my painting, I usually stay up all night looking at it. Yet not tired at all. Perhaps the excitement with the work has supported my health so that I can continue to dedicate myself to life…”.

Painter Le Khanh Thong shares interesting things about his artworks at the exhibition.

Multi-talented, dynamic artist

Having had an opportunity to enjoy paintings of painter Le Khanh Thong at Binh Duong Provincial Museum on occasion of the historic April days, we heard interesting stories about the artist who is always passionate about creating art even though he is at an older age. Ngo Phuoc Chanh, Vice Chairman of Provincial Literature and Arts Association, said that painter Le Khanh Thong turned 80 years old this year. He is a soldier, a teacher, a multi-talented, dynamic artist. With 60-year experience, he has not stopped creating artworks. Over 30 poems, dozens of articles published in newspapers, over 100 works of paintings and sketches - a great legacy of an artist who has devoted himself to art.

In 1965, painter Le Khanh Thong marched from the North, crossed Truong Son together with a group of artists to the South to fight and work. Holding a gun and a pen to make a newspaper "Flag of Liberation" - the agency of the Democratic Front for Liberation in Hue battlefield, it trained this artist to have good strength, love for the people, faith in the Party, express this by his professional labor. He was both a journalist and a painter, who did paintings for small on-the-spot exhibitions serving troops during the march and local people in liberated areas and sent the paintings to the North for exhibition and storage.

After the the Southern liberation, the artist was sent to the North to complete a university degree in fine arts in Hanoi. After his graduation, the artist was assigned to be a lecturer at Nghe Tinh Art College. At the end of 1992, at the request of Song Be province, he transferred to Binh Duong Fine Arts Junior College until he retired in 2004. He is currently a member of Vietnam Fine Arts Association and a member of Binh Duong Provincial Literature and Arts Association. Currently, Hanoi Fine Arts Museum preserves three of his paintings; Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts has 18 paintings; Binh Duong Museum has 1 painting of him (3 generations fighting the enemy).

Tell the story of battling villages through pictures

Immersed in an artwork exhibition space of Le Khanh Thong at the Provincial Museum, viewers will enjoy the talent of this artist. From the first sketches drawn along the march with genuine emotions following the soldiers' footsteps, to the first peace days, the nation was reunified; then the country innovated, opened its doors, confidently integrated with the outside world...

His paintings are more diverse when there are new branches. His look is delicate and loving but liberal in many different materials, such as: oil paint, lacquer, silk, woodcarving, watercolor, pastel... "Le Khanh Thong's eyes does not want to grow old, look for new beauties of Vietnamese people, sea, sky, river, and mountains of the homeland from North to South and from South to North", commented painter Luong Xuan Doan said, the President of Vietnam Fine Arts Association.

With a deep love for art, on occasion of the 48th anniversary of the Southern liberation and the National Reunification Day (April 30, 1975 - April 30, 2023), painter Le Khanh Thong contributed more than 60 works to an exhibition at Provincial Museum about the national and Binh Duong process of national defense and construction. He said: “I’m very grateful to Provincial Museum, Provincial Literature and Arts Association, and No Luc Advertising Company for creating a beautiful space, staging, and displaying for this exhibition in a timely, complete and beautiful manner. This exhibition is my gratitude to my hometown Binh Duong over many years of working at Fine Arts Junior College (now Binh Duong Fine Arts and Culture Junior College) together with friends and colleagues."

According to painter Huynh Phu Ha, the head of Vietnam Fine Arts Association in Ho Chi Minh City, it was his first time to contemplate artworks of painter Le Khanh Thong and truly appreciates the talent and enthusiasm of this senior painter. He had opportunities to travel a lot, drew a lot, and had many excellent artworks. With his ability and health, the artist has made his art story almost rare about his experiences from war to peace time and the development of the country so that we can see, remember the past, to love the history and culture of Vietnam.

Reported by Thuc Van - Translated by Ngoc Huynh