The Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies

Вьетнамские исследования

2618-9453

Institute of China and Contemporary Asia of the RAS

678581

10.54631/VS.2026.101678581

Scientific researches

Научные исследования

Research Article

Vietnamese anti-war art: a study of representative artists

Вьетнамское антивоенное искусство: анализ творчества представителей этого течения

Lac

Vo Van

Лак

Во Ван

Viet Nam

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

к.иск., факультет креативных технологий, Школа Технологий Ван Ланг

lac.vv@vlu.edu.vn

Van Lang UniversityУниверситет Ван Ланг

01042026

101

11512915042025

2026

Lac V.

Лак В.

https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0

https://vietnamjournal.ru/2618-9453/article/view/678581

This paper examines the evolution of anti-war art in Vietnam, tracing its development from socialist realism to postmodern practices. It focuses on key Vietnamese artists whose work reflects the country’s history of conflict and resistance. Through visual narratives, these artists depict the tragedies of war and its psychological aftermath. The study analyzes innovations in artistic language, emphasizing postmodern expressions, using archival materials, interviews, and selected works. It reveals the diversity, creative resilience, and humanism of Vietnamese visual arts in the postwar period, highlighting artists’ contributions to anti-war discourse and national memory.

Статья исследует развитие антивоенного искусства во Вьетнаме, от социалистического реализма до постмодернизма. В центре внимания — творчество художников, сформированное историей борьбы за независимость. Их произведения отражают трагедии и психологические последствия войны. Цель — проанализировать новаторство в художественном языке, особенно в постмодернистских формах. На основе архивов, интервью и анализа работ раскрываются разнообразие, устойчивость и гуманизм вьетнамского искусства после войны, подчеркивая вклад художников в антивоенную тематику и национальную память.

Anti-war artPostmodernismVietnamese artContemporary art

антивоенное искусствопостмодернизмвьетнамское искусствосовременное искусство

This research is funded by Van Lang University, Vietnam under grant number VLU-2411-DT-VLT-KST-GV-0001

Данное исследование финансируется Университетом Ван Ланга, Вьетнам, в рамках гранта номер VLU-2411-DT-VLT-KST-GV-0001

Bùi Ngọc Long (2016). Họa sĩ Võ Xuân Huy qua đời [Bui Ngoc Long. Artist Vo Xuan Huy has passed away]. Báo thanh nhiên [Newspaper Youth]. 15.03.2016. URL: https://thanhnien.vn/hoa-si-vo-xuan-huy-qua-doi-185545970.htm (accessed 16.03.2025) (In Vietnamese)

Corey P. N. (2015). The Artist in the City: Contemporary Art as Urban Intervention in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, and Phnom Penh, Cambodia (Doctoral dissertation). Cornell University.

Đào Mai Trang (2020). Vài nét phác họa hai thập kỷ của nghệ thuật đương đại Việt Nam [Dao Mai Trang. A brief overview of two decades of contemporary Vietnamese art]. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Nghệ Thuật [Culture and Arts Magazine], 433, 07.2020. URL: https://vanhoanghethuat.vn/vai-net-phac-hoa-hai-thap-k-cua-nghe-thuat-duong-dai-viet-nam-77750089.html (In Vietnamese) (accessed: 16.03.2025).

Granzow S. (2005). Finding Peace through Painting War?: American and Vietnamese Art Depicting the Vietnam War. Doctoral dissertation, Master’s Thesis. College of Arts and Behavioral Sciences. Saginaw Valley State University.

Họa sỹ Nguyễn Hiêm - Những điều chưa biết [Artist Nguyen Hiem - Things you didn't know]. Bộ văn hóa thể thao và du lịch [Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism]. 08.2019. URL: https://ape.gov.vn/hoa-sy-nguyen-hiem-nhung-dieu-chua-biet-ds2191.th (accessed 20.04.2025) (In Vietnamese)

Le Quang Dinh. Untitled (The Children), 2004. Artsy. URL: https://www.artsy.net/artwork/dinh-q-le-untitled-the-children (accessed: 21.04.2025).

Lenz I. (2020). Recasting Tradition: Heritage and the Everyday as Critical Devices of Contemporary Southeast Asian Art. Silpa Bhirasri (Journal of fine arts), 4(1): 127-178.

Lenzi I. (2022). Early Contemporary Art in Vietnam: Đổi Mới Shift as Spur of Innovation in Globalizing 1990s Hanoi. The Russian Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 6(1): 73–85.

Nam T. T. (2024). Nghệ thuật sắp đặt –trào lưu, thử thách và cơ hội cho các nghệ sĩ tạo hình trẻ ở nước ta [Installation Art – Trends, Challenges and Opportunities for Young Visual Artists in Our Country]. Tạp chí Khoa học Trường Đại học Sư phạm Thành phố Hồ Chí Minh [Science Journal of Ho Chi Minh City University of Education], 21(1): 130-138.

10.

Ngo M. (2010). Twin Artists Thanh–Hai and Performance Art about Hien Luong Bridge. Da Nang Police, 05.04.2010 URL: https://cadn.com.vn/hoa-si-song-sinh-thanh-hai-va-nghe-thuat-trinh-dien-ve-cau-hien-luong-post16089.html (accessed: 17.03.2025).

11.

Nguyen V.H. (2015). Works of Nguyen Van He. URL: http://vannghehue.vn/tin-tuc/p0/c159/n162/tac-pham-cua-hoa-si-nguyen-van-he.html (accessed: 01.04.2015).

12.

Nguyễn Văn Hè: “Hành trình nghệ thuật của tôi gắn liền với tuổi thơ thời hậu chiến” [Nguyen Van He: “My artistic journey is closely linked to my post-war childhood”]. LUXUO. 02.01.2025. URL: https://luxuo.vn/culture/nguyen-van-he-hanh-trinh-nghe-thuat-cua-toi-gan-lien-voi-tuoi-tho-thoi-hau-chien.html (accessed: 17.03.2025) (In Vietnamese)

13.

Nguyễn Văn Minh (2025). Quy trình sáng tác nghệ thuật tạo hình và bản lĩnh người nghệ sĩ trong bối cảnh nghệ thuật đương đại Việt Nam [Nguyen Van Minh. The process of creating visual art and the artist's character in the context of contemporary Vietnamese art.]. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Nghệ Thuật [Culture and Arts Magazine], 593: 101-105. (In Vietnamese)

14.

Nguyễn Vi Thùy (2019). Đặc tính Á Đông trong một số tác phẩm sắp đặt của Đặng Thị Khuê [Nguyen Vi Thuy. Asian Characteristics in Some Installation Works of Dang Thi Khue]. Tạp chí Văn Hóa Nghệ Thuật [Culture and Arts Magazine], 417, 03.2019. (In Vietnamese)

15.

Pham X. D. (2016). Late Artist Vo Xuan Huy: Coming Down to Earth to Meet the Sky. People’s Public Security Magazine. 06.03.2016. Retrieved on from URL: https://cand.com.vn/Tu-lieu-van-hoa/Co-hoa-si-Vo-Xuan-Huy-Xuong-dat-gap-troi-i402925 (accessed: 17.03.2025).

16.

Romare K. (2008). Collecting in the Light of Independence. Third Text, 13(45): 84–87. DOI: 10.1080/09528829808576767.

17.

Stock M. (2018). Dinh Q. Lê's “Monuments and Memorials”. Artasiapacific. 09.04.2018. URL: https://www.artasiapacific.com/shows/dinh-q-l-s-monuments-and-memorials/ (accessed 11.06.2025).

18.

Taylor N.A. (2001). Raindrops on Red Flags: Tran Trong Vu and the Roots of Vietnamese Painting Abroad. In: Winston, J.B., Ollier, L.CP. (eds) Of Vietnam. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. pp 112–125 DOI:10.1057/9780230107410_15.

19.

Taylor N.A. (2011). Exhibiting Middle Classness: The Social Status of Artists in Hanoi. In: The reinvention of distinction: Modernity and the middle class in urban Vietnam. Dordrecht: Springer Netherlands. pp. 115-127.

20.

Taylor N.A. (2016). Playing with National Politics: Vietnamese Artists’ Visions of War. Obieg – Magazyn Centrum Sztuki Współczesnej [Obieg—Magazine of the Centre for Contemporary Art]. URL: https://www.academia.edu/35795103/Playing_with_National_Politics_Vietnamese_Artists_Visions_of_War (accessed: 17.03.2025).

21.

Taylor N.A., Corey P.N. (2019). Đổi Mới and the Globalization of Vietnamese Art. Journal of Vietnamese Studies, 14(1): 1–34. DOI: 10.1525/vs.2019.14.1.1.

22.

Viet V. (2022). Le Brothers’ Own “Smell”. Lao Động [Labor]. 04.7.2022 URL: https://laodong.vn/lao-dong-cuoi-tuan/mui-rieng-cua-le-brothers-1015279.ldov (accessed: 17.03.2025).