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“I
want to show the passion that
Vietnam has instilled in me. I
paint my impressions to cap-
ture this country. Through my
paintings people can feel the soul of
Vietnam and my love for this coun-
try. Vietnam has a beauty and constant
change that makes it so special,” says
French painter Hélène Kling, who has
for the past 17 years lived and worked
in Vietnam, where she says: “Every tear
that fell in happiness, joy or sadness has
instantly found its expression through
my paintings and has been translated
in color and material.”
The new collection uses recycled
materials which she began gathering
two years ago at the beginning of a
new series of research, in which she
has turned to three-dimensional mate-
rials such as corrugate iron, cardboard
and other waste materials. These rough
and industrial recycled materials give
her works of art an aesthetic gloss, sof-
tened by the addition of gold and silver
leaf and semi-precious stones.
Hélène enthuses about how this
discovery matches perfectly with the
concept she has when painting wom-
en’s energy, robustness and indestructi-
bility, while they are still subtly adorned
with jewels.
“Rêve de Fer” uses the concept of
“Poubelle Plus Belle”, literally “most
beautiful rubbish” . The original French
version has a witty play on words, with
“belle” meaning “beautiful”, but also
forming the word “poubelle” - a dust-
bin - implying beauty can also be found
in the most insalubrious objects and
demonstrated through Hélène’s genius
use of recycled materials, transforming
them into authentic, wonderful pieces
of art.
The ‘tough beauty’ concept does
not stop at her use of materials, but
runs through the images of women,
from the ethnic woman in “H’Mong
Fleuri” with her intricate, colourful hat
and slightly frowning expression imply-
ing a nerve of steel; to the Japanese
beauty in “Rubis” in which the sitter
wears a traditional dress with features
which at first seem delicate but hide
something akin to rebellion in her gaze.
“My artistic research covers both a
reflection on a woman’s image and the
situation of women in different socie-
ties. I have lived in Vietnam since 1996
and I have seen that the evolution of
this country follows the woman or in-
deed the opposite way.
“Vietnamese women are the es-
sence of the land; they are its beauty,
its strength and its intelligence.
“A woman is a mother, a daughter
and is active, loving and a lover, but still
more or less used.
“In certain countries she is an im-
age without a spirit used for its beauty,
in other ones she is hidden because of
her spirit and her beauty.
“Through my art, I decided to rep-
resent women in all their forms,” says
the artist.
Tough beauty
ART SCENE
Hélène Kling’s passion for Vietnam will be on dis-
play through her new collection at the Exhibition
House on Le Thanh Ton street, Ho Chi Minh City,
from November 14-18.