Mai Trung Thứ (1906-1980)
aka: Mai Thứ
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The Vietnamese artist and musician Mai Trung Thứ was born in on November 10, 1906 in the village of Rho-Nha in the province of Kien-An (near Haiphong) in northern Viet Nam.
After attending high school at the Lycée Français d'Hanoi Thứ became a member of the first class of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam). During his studies there Thứ developed a painting style in which he painted on silk, organizing patches of bold colors into defined areas of highlight and shadow. Thu’s nostalgic early paintings celebrated folk themes and the innocence of rural Vietnam.
After graduation, Thứ served as a drawing teacher at the Lycée Français de Hué and perfected his playing of the độc huyền cầm (a traditional one-stringed gourd lute) and became friendly with many musicians then in the old imperial city. In 1937 Thứ, who opposed Communism, asked to be sent to France for the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts. Between 1938 and 1940 Thứ participated in the Paris Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne while also becoming known, through radio and concerts, as an expert độc huyền player. He would remain in France the rest of his life.
In 1941 he enlisted for military service in Mâcon and remained ther for some time. Noticed by the influential Combaud family, he was commissioned to paint notable members of Mâconnaise society and also decorated the memorial chapel dedicated to the dead of 1914-18 in the Saint-Pierre church of Mâcon. He also exhibited at Vichy (Galerie Lorenceau) and Lyon (Galerie Bellecour). In 1941 he was invited by the Governor of Algeria to exhibit with Le Pho at the Galerie Romanet in Algiers. In 1943 he returned to Paris where he settled permanently.
At the conclusion of WW II, Thứ devoted himself to filmmaking, and made a filmed report of the Fontainebleau Conference, which included the visit of President Hồ Chí Minh to Paris. He exhibited his paintings in 1947-8 on the Rue de la Paix and then produced a documentary painting on silk painting with was shown in Paris at the Cité Universitaire and the Musée de l'Homme.
Between 1952 and 1957 Thứ participates in numerous exhibitions (Galerie Conti, Galerie de l'Institut Rue de Seine, Galerie Marforen Faubourg Saint Honoré) and became increasing well known. Through his association with Jean François Apesteguy—who became his exclusive representative—his work began to enter major collections and institutions. In 1954 Thứ met and married the painter and silk decorator Jeanne Sineray (Sao) with whom he had a daughter in 1956.
In 1960, after Thứ’s first exhibition at the Peristyle Gallery (Salle Gaveau, rue de la Boétie) he shared—with Professor Tran Van Khe, a renowned musicologist—the Grand Prix du Disque (Grand Prize in Recording) for a record of traditional Vietnamese music. He then collaborated with UNICEF to create greeting cards in several languages and illustrates a collection of “Poems on Silk” with his friend, the poet Phan Vam Ky. In 1963 Thứ was cast by the filmmaker Léo Jouannon, in his film "Fort du Fou", in the role of a Catholic priest. Mai Thứ continued to exhibit, with exhibitions in 1963 and 1965 including one on the theme of children.
After his exhibition "The Child and the Family" at Doucet Gallery (Place Beauveau) Thứ made a return trip to Vietnam in 1973. His exhibition "The World of Mai Thứ " took place at the Galerie Vendôme, rue de la Paix, before a second trip in 1975, during the fall of Saigon.
The final exhibition to take place during the artist’s lifetime, "The Poetic Universe of Mai Thứ " opened at the Galerie Vendôme before the artist’s death on October 10, 1980.
Mai Thứ is buried in the cemetery of Vanves in the Hauts de Seine.
After attending high school at the Lycée Français d'Hanoi Thứ became a member of the first class of the École Supérieure des Beaux-Arts d’Indochine (College of Fine Arts of Vietnam). During his studies there Thứ developed a painting style in which he painted on silk, organizing patches of bold colors into defined areas of highlight and shadow. Thu’s nostalgic early paintings celebrated folk themes and the innocence of rural Vietnam.
After graduation, Thứ served as a drawing teacher at the Lycée Français de Hué and perfected his playing of the độc huyền cầm (a traditional one-stringed gourd lute) and became friendly with many musicians then in the old imperial city. In 1937 Thứ, who opposed Communism, asked to be sent to France for the International Exhibition of Decorative Arts. Between 1938 and 1940 Thứ participated in the Paris Salon des Indépendants and the Salon d'Automne while also becoming known, through radio and concerts, as an expert độc huyền player. He would remain in France the rest of his life.
In 1941 he enlisted for military service in Mâcon and remained ther for some time. Noticed by the influential Combaud family, he was commissioned to paint notable members of Mâconnaise society and also decorated the memorial chapel dedicated to the dead of 1914-18 in the Saint-Pierre church of Mâcon. He also exhibited at Vichy (Galerie Lorenceau) and Lyon (Galerie Bellecour). In 1941 he was invited by the Governor of Algeria to exhibit with Le Pho at the Galerie Romanet in Algiers. In 1943 he returned to Paris where he settled permanently.
At the conclusion of WW II, Thứ devoted himself to filmmaking, and made a filmed report of the Fontainebleau Conference, which included the visit of President Hồ Chí Minh to Paris. He exhibited his paintings in 1947-8 on the Rue de la Paix and then produced a documentary painting on silk painting with was shown in Paris at the Cité Universitaire and the Musée de l'Homme.
Between 1952 and 1957 Thứ participates in numerous exhibitions (Galerie Conti, Galerie de l'Institut Rue de Seine, Galerie Marforen Faubourg Saint Honoré) and became increasing well known. Through his association with Jean François Apesteguy—who became his exclusive representative—his work began to enter major collections and institutions. In 1954 Thứ met and married the painter and silk decorator Jeanne Sineray (Sao) with whom he had a daughter in 1956.
In 1960, after Thứ’s first exhibition at the Peristyle Gallery (Salle Gaveau, rue de la Boétie) he shared—with Professor Tran Van Khe, a renowned musicologist—the Grand Prix du Disque (Grand Prize in Recording) for a record of traditional Vietnamese music. He then collaborated with UNICEF to create greeting cards in several languages and illustrates a collection of “Poems on Silk” with his friend, the poet Phan Vam Ky. In 1963 Thứ was cast by the filmmaker Léo Jouannon, in his film "Fort du Fou", in the role of a Catholic priest. Mai Thứ continued to exhibit, with exhibitions in 1963 and 1965 including one on the theme of children.
After his exhibition "The Child and the Family" at Doucet Gallery (Place Beauveau) Thứ made a return trip to Vietnam in 1973. His exhibition "The World of Mai Thứ " took place at the Galerie Vendôme, rue de la Paix, before a second trip in 1975, during the fall of Saigon.
The final exhibition to take place during the artist’s lifetime, "The Poetic Universe of Mai Thứ " opened at the Galerie Vendôme before the artist’s death on October 10, 1980.
Mai Thứ is buried in the cemetery of Vanves in the Hauts de Seine.