The Vietnam Fine Arts Museum in Hanoi is hosting "Cuộc Chơi Với Lá (A Game with Leaves)," an exhibition showcasing over six decades of work by self-taught Vietnamese artist Tạ Hải. The show features dozens of artworks selected from more than 500 pieces he has created entirely from natural materials, primarily fallen leaves, since his first work in 1965. Hải, who works outside formal artistic traditions, transforms leaves into landscapes depicting rivers, rooftops, and village paths, driven by a philosophy that sees fallen leaves as enduring symbols of life rather than discarded remnants.
This exhibition matters because it highlights a singular, decades-long artistic practice that challenges conventional boundaries between art and nature, and between formal training and instinctive creativity. Tạ Hải's method of creating his own color palette from natural sources—including betel leaves, corn silk, and garlic—represents a deeply personal and environmentally attuned approach to art-making. The show also underscores the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum's commitment to presenting indigenous artistic voices that reflect Vietnamese cultural values of patience, observation, and harmony with the natural world.