Nguyen Kim Thai
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The sea in central Vietnam
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In her war sketches and oil paintings, Nguyen Kim Thai avoids the well-trodden tropes of battle scenes or soldiers’ daily life. Instead, she focuses on the figure of the worker and the collective effort of reconstruction and nation-building in the postwar period. The pairing of human and machine often becomes the central theme; the two elements are portrayed as complementary, working in harmony to shape the image of a society in the midst of transformation.
Her figures and mechanical structures appear strong and sculptural, as if carved by bold, decisive brushstrokes. Details are pared down, giving way to the expansiveness of form. The depiction of background as flat and minimalist becomes a signature device, allowing her works to both evoke the reality of their time and open a contemplative distance. This formal restraint lends a meditative cadence to what becomes a visual ode to labor – to a generation’s faith in the task of rebuilding the nation.