I came to meet female sculptor Mai Thu Van in the twilight afternoon.
I looked around, there were indeed many vases, but they were not `fussy`, they looked very beautiful, very delicate.
Only then did I truly realize that I was in the house of a talented sculptor.
Second lesson at Mai Thu Van’s house: Most likely the works will make you sad.
Women’s love
Mai Thu Van will never sell the two works she loves most, which are the painting Female Artist (45x135cm) made mainly of bronze, inlaid with gold and silver, and Stories consisting of six arranged copper mounds.
The story of the Female Artist – also the story of Mai Thu Van: A beautiful, slender female figure emerges from the bronze mound.
The stories show six different stages in a woman’s life, from imagination (1), to youth filled with dreams (2), and then surrendering to the burdens of life ((3
Mai Thu Van believes that she is in the fifth of six stages of being a woman in her work – the stage of stillness, of wanting to go beyond to see things clearly, but not completely.
Kind and sincere
Mai Thu Van is not prickly like a porcupine, she has a calm demeanor and a strangely gentle and calm way of speaking.
The clearest proof of her beauty that deserves to be inherited is her daughter – model Ha Dang with beautiful personality who is studying fashion design in Italy.
Why does she have a stable appearance while her work `struggles` with women’s emotions?
People say it’s not okay for an artist to `get along and be noble`, but I say that’s just in relationships with people.
How gentle are you?
My personality is naturally like that.
How do you make money?
In addition to the salary of a lecturer in the Sculpture Department of Vietnam University of Fine Arts, which is enough to pay monthly electricity, water, and phone bills, I sell small works and illustrate books.