La Ba Quan
'Emotional' Figurative Portrait Painting
2011

About the Item

‘Emotional’ is a large expressionist figurative oil on canvas painting of vertical format created by Vietnamese artist La Ba Quan in 2011. Featuring a palette made of grey, brown, blue, green and pink colors, the painting evokes the fascinating technique of a Chaim Soutine. This expressionist painting is marked by the striking presence of a man sitting on the ground, holding a turquoise bottle in his left hand. The deformity of his right leg and hands suggests that this man is handicapped. Our hearts are immediately drawn to the ordeal he is obviously going through, and the tortuous lines play their part in rendering the difficulty of his life. La Ba Quan creates extensive texture with thick layers of paint applied on his canvas with a pallet knife. Unframed this expressionist vertical oil on canvas painting is signed upper right. With its strong subject and great dimensions, this painting will be a focal point in any room, whether placed above a console table, credenza or sofa. In his own words: “Many men, many minds, many joys and sorrows too. Everyone has his or her own hapless things; less or more depends on a man’s characteristics and endurance. Men in a certain way can exchange segments of sufferings for entertainments, but with too many agonies inside they just keep all in themselves and considerately observe them in sad and painful silence. From time to time numerable human faces have shown up with tears or happiness. There are some blissful laughs, but people cannot conceal the past austerity and other grievous aspects. I have met many faces, from luxurious places to the end corners of many streets… Their wrinkles can show many portraits of indefinite as they are telling the world with their wordless stories that are finished only when men and women will not reserve their misery or bliss in life. I have painted them, depicting their joyful or sorrowful conditions and trying to narrate their living stories. La Ba Quan graduated with a Master of Fine Art Degree from the Hanoi University of Fine Arts in 2010. His paintings often reflect on his life and his father's life. He admires his father who endured hardship during the war time and these memories return in his haunting portrait images. La Ba Quan has participated in exhibitions several times in New York, and also in the UK, the Netherlands and Israel as well as in Vietnam.

Creator:
La Ba Quan (1976, Vietnamese)
Creation Year:
2011
Dimensions:
Height: 40 in (101.6 cm)Width: 32 in (81.28 cm)
Medium:
Canvas,Oil
Movement & Style:
Expressionist
Period:
21st Century
Condition:
Gallery Location:
Rye, NY
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU425313303602
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