Excavations near the village of Thanh Hoa in northern Vietnam unearthed art as early as 500-200BC.  If there was ever a ‘golden’ period in Vietnamese art and architecture, it was that of the central Vietnamese kingdom of Champa in the 10^th and 11^th centuries AD. Of  more than 250 sites recorded in historical records only 20 have survived the intervening centuries.  The Cham Museum in DaNang has an outstanding collection of Cham sculptures.

Modern contemporary Vietnamese art has recently benefited from an upsurge in interest. Exhibitions in New York, Paris and London have helped bring contemporary Vietnamese art to a wider public.  Excellent galleries have opened up in all the major cities of Vietnam and many older artists are now able to exhibit work of art which until recently was considered subversive.  Most Vietnamese painting is still conservative in subject, idiom and medium.  However some younger painters are experimenting with more abstract ideas and in the era of ‘doi moi’ their work is more expressive and less clichéd than that of 10-20 years ago.  Even established artists are taking advantage of their newly found artistic freedom to produce exciting experimental work. The older generation of artists still leans heavily on traditional Vietnamese themes, particularly rural landscapes and recent history: the battle of Dien Bien Phu, life under American occupation, etc.

The major Vietnamese folk art forms are lacquer work and Wood-block printing.  Lacquer work evolved as a decorative application and eventually into an artistic medium in its own right.  The Vietnamese excel in wood-block printing.  Simple and direct in their charm, with bold designs in traditional vegetable and mineral coloring.  This art form has existed since the 11^th century under the Ly Dynasty and the best examples of its revival are at the Trang Lang Ho and Dong Ho villages.  Paper, inks and blocks are handmade; some blocks have survived since the 16^th century and are still in use today.  The printings symbolize historical figures, spirits, popular allegories and social comment.  A corpulent pig symbolizes good fortune, a hen surrounded by chicks symbolizes prosperity, the rooster is the symbol of peace and courage.  Social criticism is expressed by caricatures of mandarins depicted by croaking frogs and rats marching with drums and trumpets.  These prints truly reflect major aspects of peasant outlooks with a blending of solid humor, optimism and canny ability to ridicule the corrupt and the powerful.

After independence from China in the 11^th century Vietnam experienced a building boom that created a demand for ceramic tiles and glaze work applications. Although Vietnamese ceramics parallel the Chinese Han style and form, it demonstrates a distinctive cultural identify with uniquely Vietnamese motifs.  The highest quality ceramics are kiln fired at BatTrang, Tho Ha, Song Be and other villages in northern and southern Vietnam.

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