Chuck Forsman

Vietnam and Back: paintings by Chuck Forsman

Beast – 51x91” w/f, 2005

Vietnam and Back: paintings by Chuck Forsman
October 24, 2008 - January 18, 2009 in Gallery A
Reception: October 24, 2008 from 5:30 to 7:00 pm
call 605-367-7397 ext 2341 for more information.

Chuck Forsman is a Vietnam War veteran and an artist. Bothered by the checkered history and complicated relationship shared by Vietnam and the U.S., he has spent the past four years traveling in Vietnam and the U.S. observing, reading, photographing, drawing and keeping a journal, always seeking images that reflect our lives and the landscapes we inhabit. In this series of large oil paintings on hardboard, he has chosen to contest and question war and the regrets awakened in its aftermath by looking at former enemies joined in the present. Inspired by the Vietnamese attitude of looking ahead rather than back—so that Americans can think of Vietnam as a country and people rather than a war—Forsman has mostly avoided explicit references to the war in these paintings. In this image of the painting Beast, a breathtaking view of beautiful terraces engineered by minority tribes in northern Vietnam contains an image of an American buffalo (bison), a substitution for the native Vietnamese water buffalo. The image is whimsical but also suggests an invasion. An invasion at first a part of war, but now expressed and felt culturally as western culture becomes a greater part of Vietnam’s native landscape.

Artist Statement and Dedication:

Several problems were evident from the beginning of the project. First, the premise that I can address war by editing it out is shaky. Still, exploring peace where there was war is a privilege worth seizing. Secondly, the hope of inspiring change is unrealistic. This I accept. My intent is to make some good art and hopefully, heal some wounds in the process. Thirdly, I am an American and it is impossible for me to represent the two countries with equal understanding. This, I also accept and I will blunder with the best of intentions. Lastly, it is difficult to avoid comparisons between joined images. To avoid this I have attempted to unite incomplete images, implying interdependence. I feel like a wayward child from a bitter divorce who longs for the reconciliation of those he loves most. This project seeks to symbolically join us, warts and all.
This exhibition is dedicated to the tiny, damaged girl that I met in an orphanage in 1969 near Danang and called Princess. We restored and uplifted each other until I left Vietnam and I will always think of her as my first child. She always smiled as brightly when I left as when I returned. I will always miss you, Princess.

The Chuck Forsman exhibit is FREE to the public and runs from October 22-January 18, 2009 in Gallery A at the Visual Arts Center of the Washington Pavilion. A reception, which is FREE and open to the public, is planned for Friday, October 24, 5:30 -7 p.m. The artist is in town and available for interviews until Friday evening.