Vietnamese anti-war art: a study of representative artists

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Introduction

Vietnam’s long history of over 4,000 years includes more than 200 uprisings against foreign invaders. In the 20th century, four major conflicts left deep scars: resistance against French colonialism (1946–1954), American imperialism (1955–1975), and later conflicts. These wars devastated the country, resulting in countless deaths and long-lasting psychological trauma. Vietnamese artists have reflected these national tragedies through various forms of art [Granzow 2005].

Visual arts, alongside music, literature, and poetry, embraced modern and postmodern styles during the Don Moi period. After Vietnam’s economic and cultural opening in 1990, artists were no longer bound by the belief that “art is only truly art if it becomes propaganda” [Granzow 2005]. Artistic expression became more autonomous, evolving dynamically within Vietnam and Southeast Asia [Lenzi 2020].

Since the late 19th century, Western art began to influence Vietnam through the creative expeditions of pioneering French artists such as Louis-Jules Dumoulin, Gaston Roullet, Charles Fouqueray, and Léon-François Comerre. Their presence introduced a broad spectrum of influences—ranging from Realism to various European academic trends—establishing an important artistic foundation prior to the founding École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine in Hanoi in 1924. Within this institution, French professors did not merely impart Impressionist styles but also introduced modern plastic thinking, enabling subsequent generations of artists to embrace and transform these influences into a distinct artistic language [Romare 2008].

Following the French reoccupation in 1946, Vietnamese artists joined the resistance. The École des Beaux-Arts was relocated to the northern war zone, and artists were mobilized as “soldiers on the cultural front.” Socialist Realism, influenced by the Soviet Union, became the dominant artistic style until 1986.

After the 1954 victory at Điện Biên Phủ, the Geneva Accords split Vietnam into North (Soviet-backed) and South (U.S.-backed), leading to the devastating war from 1955 to 1975. U.S. bombing campaigns dropped more than 40,000 tons of explosives on northern cities, destruction reflected in some works like Bùi Xuân Phái’s Hanoi street scenes [Cate 2005, cited in Granzow 2005].

The 1975 unification led to a decade of centralized socialism. Art remained tied to Socialist Realism and propaganda. In 1986, the Communist Party’s Fourth National Congress introduced reforms that allowed a multi-sector economy and international engagement, ending decades of strict ideological control over art.

This new era enabled exploration of global art styles—Surrealism, Cubism, Expressionism, Symbolism—as well as postmodern forms like installation, video, and performance art. Artists like Vũ Dân Tân, Trương Tân, Nguyễn Văn Cường, and Nguyễn Minh Thành emerged during this time. Cultural organizations such as the British Council and the French Institute supported contemporary artists, sparking a private art market that lessened reliance on the state [Taylor 2011].

Veteran artists revisited wartime trauma in their work. Nguyễn Hiêm, Nguyễn Sáng, Bửu Chỉ, Huỳnh Văn Gấm, Diệp Minh Châu, and Võ Xuân Huy created powerful visual narratives about war’s toll on soldiers and civilians.

Artists born post-1975 shifted from direct depictions of war to existential and psychological themes, giving rise to names like Trương Văn Hè, Lê Quang Đỉnh (1968–2024), and Lê Thành Hải.

Despite nearly 45 years of peace, remnants of war linger. The effects of colonialism, U.S. intervention, the Khmer Rouge, and internal conflict still scar the land and psyche. Unexploded ordnance continues to cause harm, and the memory of atrocities such as the Mỹ Lai and Ba Chúc massacres remains vivid.

This paper aims to examine the evolution of Vietnamese anti-war art, especially postmodern expressions, and address the following questions:

1. Which realist artists pioneered anti-war visual narratives in Vietnam?
2. How have modern and postmodern movements shaped anti-war art?
3. How are the psychological consequences of war expressed in Vietnamese art?

Literature Review

Artistic creation is a unique form of human expression that conveys complex ideas and social experience through visual language. It provides aesthetic value to audiences while serving as a vehicle for critique, memory, and transformation. Within this broad scope, postmodernism emerged in the 1960s as both a cultural and intellectual movement, offering a platform for diverse creative practices and research methodologies. Scholars argue that the rise of postmodernism, alongside the redefinition of creativity and modes of inquiry, plays a crucial role in contemporary artistic discourse [Rae 2016].

The shift from modernism to postmodernism involved far-reaching transformations in how art relates to language, power, and representation. Postmodernism, often viewed as a response to late capitalism and post-industrial society, introduced an epistemological skepticism that challenged ideas of universal truth and grand narratives. Hans Bertens identifies postmodernism as a major break in cultural consciousness, questioning traditional hierarchies and rationalist ideologies [Bertens 1995, cited in Granzow 2005].

Vietnamese modern and postmodern art have attracted the attention of both domestic and international researchers, particularly due to the country’s unique historical trajectory and the centrality of war in its national experience. Among the most prominent scholars, Nora A. Taylor has extensively examined how contemporary Vietnamese artists address the theme of war and its aftermath. In her article Playing with National Politics: Vietnamese Artists’ Visions of War, Taylor observes that instead of directly representing scenes of violence, many artists use subtle and complex strategies—including irony, personal memory, historical reenactment, and symbolic metaphor—to engage with postwar trauma and national narratives [Taylor 2016].

Taylor further argues that globalization and the legacy of modernism have allowed Vietnamese art to become a medium of cultural diplomacy. While artists working within Vietnam often use their practice to reinforce a renewed sense of cultural identity and local belonging, those in the diaspora tend to adopt a more critical or questioning stance toward Vietnamese identity, reinterpreting their cultural heritage from a distance [Taylor 2001].

In her joint work with Pamela Nguyen Corey, Taylor examines the role of the Đổi Mới (Renovation) policy in shaping the trajectory of contemporary Vietnamese art. They highlight Đổi Mới as a key moment that allowed greater creative autonomy and facilitated international engagement. However, they also caution against seeing it as the sole cause of artistic transformation, suggesting that broader economic, political, and social developments—particularly in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City— also contributed to this transformation [Taylor & Corey 2019].

Pamela Nguyen Corey’s dissertation delves into the visual culture of Ho Chi Minh City and Phnom Penh, analyzing contemporary art through the lens of urban experience and spatial transformation. She focuses on how historical narratives and collective memory shape artistic identity, emphasizing the relationship between physical space and cultural expression in both postcolonial and postwar contexts [Corey 2015].

Iola Lenzi, in her article on early contemporary art in Vietnam, explores how Đổi Mới opened the door for experimental and non-traditional forms. She emphasizes that even before Vietnamese art entered global markets, a number of pioneering artists were already working outside institutional norms.

Her research situates Hanoi as a hub of innovation in Southeast Asia, noting that Vietnamese artists were among the most forward-thinking in the region during the 1990s [Lenzi 2022].

Kristian Romare approaches Vietnamese art from a historical and institutional perspective. In Collecting in the Light of Independence, he examines how nationalist sentiment and colonial legacies influenced art education and collection practices. He traces the adoption of Western academic models during French rule and analyzes how Vietnamese collectors and artists negotiated cultural identity during and after the wars [Romare 2008].

From a comparative perspective, Swenja Granzow studies how both American and Vietnamese artists have represented the Vietnam War. Her article Seeking Peace Through War Painting? examines visual portrayals of violence, gender roles, and children, arguing that such comparisons may foster mutual understanding and postwar healing [Granzow 2005]. Her analysis reveals divergent cultural responses to wartime trauma, but also unexpected points of convergence.

Taylor reinforces this idea in another study, noting that while global audiences are familiar with iconic images of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese artists often avoid such motifs. Instead, they focus on themes like national reconstruction, memory, and loss—offering alternative narratives that resist official narratives or clichéd representations [Taylor 2016].

Within Vietnam, several scholars have sought to reframe the discourse on contemporary art. Tran Thanh Nam’s study on installation art emphasizes the evolving relationship between traditional aesthetics and contemporary experimentation. He highlights the challenges faced by young artists in accessing funding, platforms, and institutional support, while also noting the opportunities that come from integrating Vietnamese cultural motifs with global art trends [Nam 2024].

Nguyen Van Minh underscores the artist’s ethical responsibility in preserving cultural identity while navigating global integration. He argues that art must remain rooted in national experience even as it adopts new forms and enters international dialogue [Minh 2025].

Dao Mai Trang provides an important overview of how the Vietnamese art scene has evolved through the support of private collectors, international collaborations, and the diaspora. She argues that the decentralization of artistic development presents both challenges and opportunities for local artists to shift their perspectives and engage more critically with contemporary global discourse [Đào Mai Trang 2020].

Nguyen Vi Thuy, in her study of artist Dang Thi Khue, traces a trajectory from Cubist experimentation to war-themed compositions to large-scale installations. She emphasizes how Khue’s connection to traditional Vietnamese values gives her work with cultural depth and a distinctive voice within the national context [Nguyễn Vi Thùy 2019].

In reviewing this diverse body of literature, it becomes clear that Vietnamese contemporary art is shaped by a complex interplay of historical trauma, cultural continuity, and global engagement.

However, despite the extensive scholarship on modern and postmodern trends, relatively few studies focus on the persistent role of anti-war narratives as a distinct thread in postwar artistic innovation. While war remains a recurring subject, its treatment as a sustained and evolving artistic inquiry—particularly in the context of postmodernism—has yet to be fully explored.

This paper seeks to address that gap by examining how Vietnamese artists have transformed the visual language of anti-war expression from realist modes to postmodern experimentation, enriching both national memory and global artistic dialogue.

Results and Discussion

The anti-war spirit in realistic-style artistic creation

Vietnamese revolutionary art officially began during the French re-invasion in 1946. On December 12 of that year, President Ho Chi Minh issued a nationwide call for resistance. Around 150 painters from the École des Beaux-Arts de l’Indochine relocated to the northern war zone and helped form the Viet Bac Fine Arts School [Romare 2008]. This marked the emergence of a dedicated artistic force serving the revolutionary cause.

Many artists trained in French Impressionism—such as To Ngoc Van (1906–1954), Tran Van Can (1910–1994), Nguyen Sang (1923–1988), Nguyen Van Ty (1917–1992), Luong Xuan Nhi (1914–2006), Pham Van Don (1918–2000), and Nguyen Tien Chung (1914–1976) — redirected their artistic practice. Their subjects now included portraits of Ho Chi Minh, revolutionary cadres, soldiers on the front lines, and peasants engaged in wartime production.

A representative example from this period is The Battle of Tam Vu (1948) [Fig. 1] by Nguyen Hiem (1917–1976), which depicts southern Vietnamese partisans resisting French tanks. Painted en plein air, the piece employs swift, energetic brushwork to capture the heat and dynamism of combat. While the ideology and genre shifted toward revolutionary propaganda, the artist retained these established technical devices to convey a sense of defiance and the visceral immediacy of lived conflict.

Fig. 1. Nguyen Hiem, The Battle of Tam Vu, 1948, Watercolor, Location: Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi. Source: [Họa sỹ Nguyễn Hiêm … 2019]

During the war against American forces (1955–1975), Nguyen Sang created Party Admission at Dien Bien Phu (1963) [Fig. 2], showing a wounded soldier collapsing into the arms of his comrades during a solemn moment of ideological commitment. Though the work was initially condemned as pessimistic [Romare 2008], it was later hailed as a national treasure for its emotional honesty and epic symbolism. The raw portrayal of sacrifice subverted propagandistic expectations and testified to the psychological cost of war.

Fig. 2. Nguyen Sang, Party Admission in Dien Bien Phu, 1963, Lacquer, Location: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

Fig. 3. Huynh Van Gam, The Southern Uprising of 1940, 1960, Lacquer, Location: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

Huynh Van Gam, known for his intimate depictions of the southern conflict, used close-up compositions to evoke brutality. In The Southern Uprising of 1940 (1960) [Fig. 3], he portrays tortured villagers under colonial oppression. Their bloodied hands and resolute stares symbolize tragic defiance. His Heart and Gun Barrel (1963) further reveals Socialist Realism’s impact, emphasizing ordinary people’s strength.

Fig. 4. Diep Minh Chau, Phu Loi people feel hatred for the enemy, 1959, Bronze, Location: Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

Sculptor Diep Minh Chau, known for his strong anti-war stance, expressed deep sorrow and rage through bronze works like Phu Loi People Feel Hatred for the Enemy (1959) [Fig. 4]. The piece memorializes political prisoners poisoned by the South Vietnamese regime, depicting a woman’s lifeless body held by a screaming man. The visceral composition conveys collective mourning and indignation, asserting sculpture’s power to bear witness.

Fig. 5. Buu Chi, We must see the sun, 1973, Pen. Source: Photo by the author

Painter Buu Chi brought existential depth to wartime imagery. In drawings such as We Must See the Sun [Fig. 5], Flock of War Crows, and Break the Chains, he channeled fury and sorrow into stark compositions [Vuong Tam 2021]. His surrealist work Civil War symbolically explores the painful truth of Vietnamese people killing one another. Influenced by Alberto Giacometti, Buu Chi emphasized skeletal, elongated figures, conveying spiritual anguish and the disintegration of unity.

The works of these artists blend realism and emotional intensity. Having lived through the horrors of war, they transformed personal and collective memory into visual language. Their art became a vehicle for patriotism, mourning, and moral protest.

The obsession with war as expressed through postmodern artistic creation

As noted earlier, the 1990s marked a turning point when postmodern art practices began to gain ground in Vietnam. With the Đổi Mới reforms came cultural openness and growing support from international institutions, allowing artists to explore personal and critical approaches to history. Vietnamese artists based overseas began returning to their homeland to exhibit works shaped by global experiences and postmodern idioms.

Pioneers such as Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Le Quang Dinh, Tiffany Chung, Rich Streitmatter-Tran, and Tuan Andrew Nguyen infused contemporary Vietnamese art with new conceptual and interdisciplinary approaches. Their emergence coincided with the establishment of institutions like the Goethe Institute, British Council, and CDEF, and with private galleries such as Nha San Studio, Art Vietnam, and San Art [Đào Mai Trang 2020].

Fig. 6. Le Quang Dinh, Drifting at Night, 2017, Installation art, In the White Noise Exhibition 2023. Source: [Stock 2018]

Among them, Le Quang Dinh (1968–2024) played a prominent role in reshaping anti-war narratives. His works, including From Vietnam to Hollywood, Ghosts of the Past, Untitled (Children), and Imagined Nation (2006), reflect on the Vietnam War’s trauma and its long-term emotional and cultural consequences. Imagined Nation meditates on the experience of more than 500,000 boat people who fled the country after 1975. The work juxtaposes drifting boats with fragmented memories of the Vietnamese diaspora, representing displacement, fear, and inherited trauma (quoted in Imagined Nation, 2006).

Fig. 7. Le Quang Dinh, “Untitled (Children)”, 2004, Digital art. Source: [Le Quang Dinh]

Untitled (Children) [Fig. 7] and other works portray younger generations beside gun barrels — symbols of inherited violence. Through these multilayered pieces, Dinh became a voice of collective memory, inspiring a new era of curatorial innovation and artistic experimentation.

In Untitled (Children) [Fig. 7], Dinh confronts viewers with haunting images of children beside cold steel — suggesting how violence extends across generations. His layering of historical documentation with contemporary digital techniques allows for multifaceted reflections on memory and loss. Exhibited widely both in Vietnam and abroad, his practice combined content-rich installations with innovative form, cementing his place in postmodern Vietnamese art.

The Le Brothers — Le Ngoc Thanh and Le Duc Hai — presented a powerful performance piece titled The Bridge (2006), centered on Hien Luong Bridge, which once divided North and South Vietnam. Dressed identically, the twin brothers reenacted the emotional and symbolic tensions of the nation’s split. Their minimalist, repetitive gestures conveyed pain and longing for unity, emphasizing that the war was not just foreign-driven but deeply internal. This performance marked a milestone in Vietnamese contemporary art, bringing performance art into public discourse and challenging historical narratives [Ngo Minh 2010].

Their work has since been featured in international venues, including the Saatchi Gallery (London), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), and Gwangju Art Museum, showing that Vietnam’s war legacy resonates globally [Viet Van 2022].

Fig. 8. Vo Xuan Huy, Going Down to Earth to Meet the Sun, 2015, Installation Art. Source: [Bùi Ngọc Long 2016]

Vo Xuan Huy (1970–2016), from Quang Tri—a region devastated by American bombing—created installations rooted in personal and regional memory. His Going Down to Earth to Meet the Sun (2015) [Fig. 8] recreated the Vinh Moc tunnels using 2,000 light-filled balloons, symbolizing the 2,000 days locals lived underground to survive. Historical records note that from 1964 to 1972, over 668,000 tons of bombs were dropped on Vinh Linh—roughly 7 tons per person. Huy’s installations also functioned as educational spaces, attracting students and reconnecting them with their heritage [Pham Xuan Dung 2016].

He also integrated farming tools, textiles, and battlefield relics into his art, grounding postmodern artistic forms in elements of local folk material culture. Huy’s contributions brought greater visibility to Central Vietnam in the contemporary art scene and demonstrated how installation could serve as a form of cultural preservation.

Nguyen Van He (b. 1981), from the same region, represents a generation born into peace but haunted by war’s aftermath. He grew up amid the danger of unexploded ordnance and lost several male relatives to scrap-metal scavenging. These personal traumas shaped three distinct creative phases.

Fig. 9. Nguyen Van He, Rusted chain link, 2015, Oil on canvas. Source: [Nguyen Van He 2015]

Fig. 10. Nguyen Van He, Feelings, 2011, Performance Art. Source: [Nguyen Van He 2015]

In the first, he adopted a Surrealist style, exploring the psychological wounds of war through works like War Sorrow, Red Freedom, and Rusted Chain Link [Fig. 9]. In the second, he turned to performance art. Using his body, he enacted metaphors of siege and resistance in pieces such as White Carpet and Feelings [Fig. 10]. He recalls: “The war passed through my homeland more than 40 years ago, but the remnants of bombs and bullets made people live in fear. The danger of mines and explosives took hundreds of lives, especially men who were the pillars of their families—including my own relatives. Their departure left women in deep sorrow; they knew only how to endure in silence” [Nguyen Van He 2015].

In his third phase, Nguyen combined painting, installation, and sculpture. Airplane Folding (2024) [Fig. 11] evokes children’s games, transforming weapons into playful forms while exposing the absurdity of war. The materials—Vietnamese lacquer applied on U.S. marine plywood—reference both national identity and foreign intrusion. According to Nguyen, “I want to turn suffering into joy through children’s games and to discover optimism in life”.

Fig. 11. Nguyen Van He, Airplane folding, 2024, Lacquer Vietnam on U.S. Marine Plywood. Source: Nguyen Van He… 02.01.2025]

His studio, filled with over 200 reassembled wartime objects, creates an immersive, memory-rich space. Nguyen reclaims the violent detritus of war, reinterpreting it as art that testifies to life, loss, and the power of transformation.

Conclusion

Vietnamese artists, shaped by distinct historical periods, have responded to their nation’s wars with a range of creative approaches. Though the country has now experienced five decades of peace, its history remains marked by deep conflict and suffering. Visual art did not stand apart—it became a vital tool for witnessing, resisting, and remembering.

Realist art emerged during the struggle for independence, with early generations documenting the trauma of war through powerful, emotionally charged imagery. As Vietnam opened culturally and economically, postmodern forms enabled younger artists to reimagine war’s legacy through personal, conceptual, and interdisciplinary practices.

This anti-war tradition reflects not only historical memory but also a profound sense of humanism. Grounded in lived experience, cultural identity, and collective trauma, these artworks offer insight into how societies remember, heal, and evolve.

Artists such as Nguyen Sang, Huynh Van Gam, Diep Minh Chau, Buu Chi, Vo Xuan Huy, Le Quang Dinh, and Nguyen Van He have shaped the visual language of resistance. Their work contributes not only to Vietnamese national memory but also to a broader, transnational dialogue on art, war, trauma, and reconciliation.

About the authors

Vo Van Lac

Author for correspondence.
Email: lac.vv@vlu.edu.vn

Ph.D. (Art), Faculty of Creative Technology, Van Lang School of Technology

References

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2. Fig. 1. Nguyen Hiem, The Battle of Tam Vu, 1948, Watercolor, Location: Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi. Source: [Họa sỹ Nguyễn Hiêm … 2019]

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3. Fig. 2. Nguyen Sang, Party Admission in Dien Bien Phu, 1963, Lacquer, Location: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

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4. Fig. 3. Huynh Van Gam, The Southern Uprising of 1940, 1960, Lacquer, Location: Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

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5. Fig. 4. Diep Minh Chau, Phu Loi people feel hatred for the enemy, 1959, Bronze, Location: Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts. Source: Photo by the author

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6. Fig. 5. Buu Chi, We must see the sun, 1973, Pen. Source: Photo by the author

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7. Fig. 6. Le Quang Dinh, Drifting at Night, 2017, Installation art, In the White Noise Exhibition 2023. Source: [Stock 2018]

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8. Fig. 7. Le Quang Dinh, “Untitled (Children)”, 2004, Digital art. Source: [Le Quang Dinh]

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9. Fig. 8. Vo Xuan Huy, Going Down to Earth to Meet the Sun, 2015, Installation Art. Source: [Bùi Ngọc Long 2016]

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10. Fig. 9. Nguyen Van He, Rusted chain link, 2015, Oil on canvas. Source: [Nguyen Van He 2015]

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11. Fig. 10. Nguyen Van He, Feelings, 2011, Performance Art. Source: [Nguyen Van He 2015]

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12. Fig. 11. Nguyen Van He, Airplane folding, 2024, Lacquer Vietnam on U.S. Marine Plywood. Source: Nguyen Van He… 02.01.2025]

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