VietNamNet Bridge – A solo exhibition of paintings and sculptures by Luong Luu Bien opens next Thursday at HCM City's Craig Thomas Gallery.

The paintings titled Evolution "radiate feelings of lightness, movement and, in certain cases, unrestrained joy", replacing the heavy and melancholy tone that has been the hallmark of Bien's earlier works.

"I am intrigued by a theatre movement I once heard of where the actors performed without costumes or make-up but still managed to make audiences lose themselves in the story," he said.

"I feel the same way about my paintings. The artistic language of my paintings should be enough to create a mood or mental state, and there is no need for clothing or imagery to clarify things any more than that.

"I am more concerned with viewers ‘feeling' my paintings than I am with their ‘understanding' them."

Evolution marks the first time that Bien exhibits his sculptures.

The six terracotta works feature human heads filled with cuts and gashes that disfigure their appearance.

"The scars and mutilations are metaphors for the wounds that we all carry on the inside," a press release from the gallery says.

Evolution will be on display first at Lily 19, An Phu Superior Villa Compound, District 2, before moving to the gallery's main exhibition space at 27 Tran Nhat Duat Street, District 1, on December 8. It will go on until December 29.

VietNamNet/VNS