Mua nuoc noi Dong Thap Muoi 1, clay-cut, Mua nuoc Dong Thap Muoi 2, clay-cut, Nu sinh, clay-cut, Chan cung da mem, clay-cut, Cho noi tren song, clay-cut

Le Thanh Tru was born Dong Thap, Mekong Delta. At age 16, he left to join the Northern Vietnamese army and later studied theatre design in Hanoi. He subsequently worked as graphic designer for the Liberation Publishing House until 1975. Currently Thanh Tru is based in Ho Chi Minh City and spends most his time composing fictions on the memoirs of his youth in Mekong Delta and the changes that have taken place since the war’s end.

Being a soldier in the Communist Army from such an early point in his life meant that Le Thanh Tru had first-hand experience with the political and social alteration of the country. He recognized that severe warfare resulted in individuals losing their natural sense of mercy. His early lacquer and clay-cut artworks predominantly expressed the willing determination of Communist soldiers as they underwent the rigors of combat. In his more recent work Le Thanh Tru concentrates on plain but graceful landscapes of his motherland and approaches his depictions of Southern Vietnamese broad-mindedly. Le Thanh Tru uses the printing techniques that are common in Social Realism prints. However, he is distinguished for his clay-cut technique that is an alternative to wood-cut to create softer prints.

Many of his paintings were awarded cultural medals from the Ministry of Culture and Information. His paintings were exhibited in “Cultural Representation in Transition: New Vietnamese painting” in Thailand, 1996.
(AQAT)