(MIAMI BEACH): The “War Pieces” were created by Vietnamese artist, Huong as her testament to the terrors of war and a memorial to its victims. The twenty-four monumental Murals are 8feet’ tall by 200feet’ long and are a commemoration of the end of the 40th Anniversary of the War in Vietnam and the artist’s long arduous journey to freedom. They express pain and sorrow with the hope of peace for the future. A woman of small stature and gigantic energy, Huong fled Vietnam in 1975 through Malaysia, settling first in Alaska with her infant son and then traveling through the United States to Florida; where she now lives. She has dedicated the past five years to the series, employing remarkably complex techniques that involve the brash application of layers of oil paint, vigorously incised details, roughly abused surfaces, and the application of a variety of materials for interesting textural effects. Gestural abstraction contrasts with a Cubist approach to representation that serves to reveal emotions through pain of a realist vision and the intensity of color.

Horrific visions are described in screaming faces and blood red slashes of color, while stained glass effects elevate war’s victims to the realm of the spiritual and eternal peace. Jewel-like tones and metallic details recall religious icons, slashed and beaten by turmoil of disaster. The contrast between the brilliance of her jewel tones and the blood-spattered surfaces streaked with tears makes a profound and powerful statement about the contradictions of war through the medium of paint.

To further amplify the grief of the moment, the “Faces of War” are tortured and fragmented in flat oppressive spaces that amplify their grief and force the viewer to share their anguish through visual confrontation. Each painting confronts a theme of violence and despair in order to “make the world understand that the final victory does not belong to a nation, but to humanity.” It is her testimony to future generations. Women and children are especially evident in Huong’s powerful images. Time after time, she compels the viewer to consider the dramatic role of women throughout the war, any war. Women are not only victims, they remain to pick up the pieces and deal with war’s aftereffects. In their strength, there is hope for the future and trust in a bright tomorrow, particularly for the innocent and the children.

Throughout the series, humanity is torn asunder; life’s fragments, skulls, and bones, and bloodstained flags describe hellish landscapes in works with such titles as “Faces of War,” “Wrath of Flags,” “The War’s Wedding Gift” and “Red Rain.” Huong’s every stroke is a labor of love and dynamic attention to detail. Themes of family, love, and maternity appear often, put from a frightening perspective. Nevertheless, there is a message in her works. They are not only about death and despair. Her many-layered and complex images must be considered as cathartic, lessons for the future, and optimistic, hopeful and PEACE.

– Written by Carol Damian

(Art Critic and Former Director of the Frost Museum)