Art lovers look at the paintings at Hakio gallery
It’s high time Vietnamese paintings were introduced to international lovers; however, authorities imposed fines on unprecedentedly an unauthorized exhibition while two other exhibitions must be closed making public agitation and artists confused.
According to many people working in the art field, many exhibitions have been unlicensed although according to Decree 113/2013 on painting exhibitions, it is not difficult to get permission to organize exhibitions, even though all procedures can be done online, without spending too much time traveling.
Ms. Trang Hanh, an owner of HAKIO - Let's Art gallery at 38 Tran Cao Van Street in Ho Chi Minh City’s District 3 said that getting permission to organize an exhibition is easy and all procedures can be done online.
The question is how to manage exhibitions in the online space, or in some coffee shops. Ms. Minh Phuong, one of the founding members of XYZ Coffee and Art Space in Nguyen Van Mai Street in District 3 said that organizers of large-scale exhibitions will apply for a license whereas exhibitions of a few works of some young artists in the coffee shop for decoration and these paintings change continuously from season to season will be held without a license.
A woman looks at the paintings at Hakio gallery
Chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association Professor Nguyen Xuan Tien said that the procedure for applying for permission to organize an exhibition is in fact not difficult. Moreover, based on that, artists’ rights can be protected from plagiarism or copying if the genuine works have not yet registered copyright. As for the paintings hanging in the cafe, in my opinion, it is only decorative for the space of the shop and can be changed at will by the owner, not an exhibition, because the exhibition must have a permit.
Two recent quite popular exhibitions in Hanoi in April and July were forced to suspend before the closing date following public reaction to some paintings which didn’t suit the community's aesthetic.
Curator Nguyen Nhu Huy said that the mechanism of censorship of culture in general and art in particular in the country has not kept pace with the conceptual and technical development of current global and domestic art. This is the source of the entanglement and can be said to be entanglement in the relationship between contemporary art and the culture practice environment. The art and culture censorship mechanism is still very simple and goes behind the development of contemporary art and culture. This issue really needs to be addressed at the macro-policy level.
Fine art in general or painting in recent years, has become an investment channel that is noticed by its rapid and high liquidity. However, most famous artists still operate quite quietly, collectors find themselves in their studios to trade and rarely participate in exhibitions or art fairs. A famous artist in the oil painting line disclosed artists don’t want to organize an exhibition since they are afraid of censorship, and copyright infringement.
Painter Luong Luu Bien said that previously, because of social circumstances, state management in this field was somewhat biased towards content and ideological management but currently, the development rhythm of art culture has changed, it is necessary to have a new censorship mechanism so that the existences do not have to be repeated, as well as the time to discuss the art law seriously.
