The Visual Journey from Ignorance to Insight by Artist Trần Trung Lĩnh

After vibrant and playful exhibitions like Post-Impressionism – Van Gogh and Pop Art – Hahaha, artist Trần Trung Lĩnh now takes a different path: one that turns inward. At the height of his maturity in both life and art, Lĩnh embarks on a journey steeped in philosophy—a dialogue between art and Eastern spirituality—through his new exhibition, “Form and Emptiness”.

This exhibition is not just a display of paintings—it is a visual meditation. A journey from seeing to understanding, from the brilliance of appearances to the stillness of essence. The title “Form and Emptiness” encapsulates the spirit of the exhibition: a progression from the visible world of forms to their utmost reduction—where “emptiness” is not a void, but an all-encompassing foundation, the essence behind all forms.

Form and Emptiness: All Phenomena Are Illusory

In the early part of the exhibition, the paintings are vivid, intense, and full of motion—mirroring the stage of Ignorance in human life: filled with emotion, caught in the whirl of form, desire, and duality. But as the journey deepens, the colors begin to fade, the imagery becomes more minimal, eventually arriving at still, black-and-white compositions—like Insight, where consciousness lets go, no longer clinging.

From Eastern ink wash painting, to Zen-inspired Japanese sumi-e, to Western abstract art, many artists have used reduction as a path to the infinite. Trần Trung Lĩnh, through “Form and Emptiness”, aligns himself with this flow—where art is not merely for viewing, but for awakening.

The exhibition “Form and Emptiness” is a meeting point of art, philosophy, and inner experience.

Life and Emptiness: The Integration of Form and Emptiness

Another way to experience this exhibition is to see it as a journey from life to emptiness, from birth to dissolution. It begins with vivid, energetic colors—symbolizing life. But as the viewer moves deeper, the colors dissolve, just as life settles, ending in the stillness of emptiness. Not as a loss, but as acceptance and integration.