The exhibition titled “From symbols to works”, the first of its kind in Vietnam, featuring paintings by 21 contemporary Indonesian artists, is running in Ho Chi Minh City from June 18 to 29.

The exhibition, put on by the Indonesian Art Xchange gallery at the HCMC Fine Arts Museum, 97A Pho Duc Chinh st, district 1, features a wide variety of styles.

The Indonesian artists will hold exchanges with their local counterparts at the Ham Long Fine Arts Village in district 2 on June 19 and take part in a workshop on contemporary fine arts at the Van Thanh recreation park the following day.

Jim Supangkat, a celebrated Indonesian artist and curator, who serves as the curator for the exhibition, said in an interview with Tuoi Tre that Asian art is playing an increasingly significant role in the world’s art arena.

“The modern world doesn’t belong to the Western countries alone, but to the whole humanity. Modernity varies considerably from one society to another. In today’s rapidly changing world, Asian power, manifest in the contribution by Asian artists, is much more conspicuous in the global contemporary art scene,” said 70-year-old Supangkat.

He added that however, while painting purchase is common in European and American countries, the artworks circulation elsewhere, including Asia, remains limited.

“So we’re in bad need of curators, who remain few in Vietnam. A good curator must connect between the local and world art scenes, master world art advanced techniques and today’s trends, and fuse them with the knowledge on their country’s art development from the 19th century onward,” he noted.