East meets West

Young Chang

In a part of Newport Beach known more for its seafood restaurants,

sailboat-speckled harbor and the Balboa Bay Club, the work of five

Vietnamese artists stands out at djr International Art gallery.

West Coast Highway is not a place one would expect to find art. As its

owner, DeAnna Reposa, explained, “We’re not Laguna.”

But the gallery’s location is what assures her that when visitors

come, they’re not just passing through.

For her current show, titled “Images Vietnam,” her customers include

middle-aged Vietnamese men who sit on the sofa in the middle of the

gallery mesmerized by the paintings before them.

The works by contemporary artists Phan Lam Thuong, Do Quang Em, Nguyen

Thanh Binh, Dang Xuan Hoa and Pham Luan render them proud, Reposa said.

Proud that the Vietnamese are now free to paint whatever they like

without political messages, and proud of the art’s beauty.

“I was interested in having people come in that were actually

interested in art,” she said.

The show, which opened last week and runs through March 10, echoes the

Vietnamese theme of Reposa’s first exhibit held last year. It presents

paintings not usually accessible in America.

The exotic aspect of these works might be what has made the Vietnamese

shows the most popular among Reposa’s exhibits, which include artists

from France, Italy, the San Francisco Bay Area and New York.

“I think anyone feels safe going to Italy or France,” Reposa said.

“But I don’t think a lot of people feel safe going to Vietnam, and it’s

amazing what comes out of there.”

Each artist in the show occupies about a wall and a half of space.

The oil paintings by Em, who met former president Bill Clinton on a

recent trip to Vietnam, are probably the most famous. Reposa has three

pieces hanging on the wall -- “Future of My Life,” “Still Life w/Red Cup”

and “Still Life w/Red Bowl II.”

Em is known for painting portraits of his daughters, his wife and

scenes of items such as teapots and bowls in his home. He has never

painted his son, Chris Em, for the simple reason that the 29-year-old

doesn’t like sitting still for very long.

“When he paints a painting, it takes, for still-lifes, about a month.

And for a portrait, it’s about a month and a half, and I can never stay

[in Vietnam] that long,” said Chris Em, a Los Angeles resident.

He said that people in his country have begun to imitate his father’s

style.

“And the Vietnamese country is very honored to have an artist that is

well known internationally,” Chris Em added.

“Future of My Life” is a unique self-portrait. It depicts the artist

as a puppet on an altar used to honor late ancestors. Asian custom

involves placing a picture of the deceased on an altar with incense and,

often, food.

The portrait “signifies how a dead person feels,” Reposa said.

Adjacent to Em’s works are Binh’s. Known for using neutral tones, such

as shades of white and variations of tan, as well as smatterings of red.

His paintings depict women in traditional white dress and long black

hair. These figures don’t have clear faces -- some have just one black

smudge for an eye, others are turned around. A few have no facial

features at all.

“It kinda makes them seem like they’re hiding, like they’re secret,”

Reposa explained.

Luan’s work shows mostly landscapes. He is an artist who admires

Monet, Reposa said, and the impressionistic influence is evident in his

work. The scenes are mostly of a historic Hanoi that is slowly

modernizing.

The images in Hoa’s paintings experiment with gravity. Bowls are

painted to feature the bottom, cats are vertical, cups are upside down

and lamps are placed sideways instead of upright.

Thuong’s pieces are done in natural mineral colors on silk or other

textures. An art historian as well as a professor of art history,

Thuong’s work often focuses on folk stories and religion. One of his

pieces, titled “Peaceful Moments,” shows two faces of each person -- a

good and a bad, a happy and a sad.

Since opening night, Reposa’s Vietnamese visitors have been quietly

affected by these works.

“It was nice to see grown men so proud about the art,” she said.

FYI

WHAT: Images Vietnam

WHEN: Through March 10. Call for appointments and hours.

WHERE: 2431 W. Coast Highway, Suite 204, Newport Beach

COST: Free

CALL: (949) 548-6249