Artist Chinh Le and her installation artwork.

An exhibition of paintings and sculptures, including many by monks, which opened in Ho Chi Minh City on May 18 high lights the close bonds between Buddhism and Vietnam’s millennia-old culture.

There are around 170 works on display at the one week exhibition titled Buddhist Fine Arts Go Along with the Nation’s Development, which is divided into two sections.

The first consists of 90 works highlighting Buddhism’s role in modern society’s workings and changes. For instance, Trinh Thanh Tung’s painting is about monks’ activities to help Agent Orange victims, while Tran Chau’s Dream expresses the Buddha’s desire for peace.

Almost all the works in this section are of recent time, except for one created before 1975 depicting the fight of students and Buddhists against the Sai Gon regime during the American war.

The works belong to 55 artists, including monks like Thich Quang Nhon and Thich Nhuan Thuong.

The second section shifts focus to centuries-old folk sculptures and paintings featuring great Buddhist monks, most of them living in famous pagodas and temples in northern Vietnam .

Many of the original sculptures and paintings have been faithfully reproduced.

Painter Uyen Huy, chairman of the Ho Chi Minh City’s Fine Arts Association, said, “Buddhism has been an integral part of Vietnam’s fine arts, because it appears almost everywhere in the daily life of the people and is widely know through the architecture, sculptures, and Buddha idols in pagodas.”

Being part of activities to celebrate the United Nation’s Day of Vesak in the city, the exhibition not only seeks to bring the world of Buddhist art to art lovers, but also to showcase the image of the country and its profound culture to the outside world.

Superior Buddhist monk Thich Thien Bao, head of the city’s Department of Buddhist Culture, said, “It’s a good opportunity for Vietnam ’s Buddhist community to send the Buddha’s message of true peace and friendship to all nations.”

The exhibition is organised by the department and the city’s Fine Arts Association, and runs until May 25 at the HCM City ’s Fine Arts Museum, 97A Pho Duc Chinh street , district 1. (VNA)