BUI THANH PHUONG, the son of artist Bui Xuan Phai, once inoted that his father always made a horizontal stroke with his paint brush before he began a painting. It's difficult to say why Hanoi's legendary artist performed this ritual, but one thing can be said--that each and every one of his masterpieces appears to have evolved from an all-encompassing principle of simplicity.
Indeed, it's a principal that Bui Xuan Phai adhered to during his life, and he referred to it more than once in documented comments about the local art scene.
"To talk on and on about art is nonsense," Bui Xuan Phai once wrote. "Plunge yourself into painting. For if you don't paint often or don't paint at all, you are not professional. Speak less to have more time for painting; your occupation is not speaking but painting. It's a mute art, an art for people to view--not to listen to."
Bui Xuan Phai was more than just an artist; he lived for art. He painted right up until the day he died, guided by a basic principle of aesthetics.
"To paint wrongly? To paint rightly? Both are bad. The thing is how to paint beautifully," he wrote.
Needless to say, the whole of Hanoi went into mourning when Bui Xuan Phai finally passed away in 1988. His spirit, however, lives on, thanks largely to the efforts of Tran Hau Tuan, a local art collector, and Phai's eldest son, Bui Thanh Phuong.
In 2008, they will publish a book entitled Bui Xuan Phai: Life After Death to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the artist's death.
Now, in order to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the artist's death, Tuan and Phuong have gathered enough material to publish a book, which they have called Bui Xuan Phai: Life after death. Only 500 copies of the book have been made, and the publishers expect them to be in hot demand when they eventually hit book stores next year.

Bui Xuan Phai _Art Books

		Bui Xuan Phai, In the Collection This is the first book published by the collector  about Vietnam’s icon painter Bui Xuan Phai. Our Price: US$35.00		Bui Xuan Phai – Cheo Collection “To keep the soul pure and youthful, that is the best way to get close to art” writes Phai in the opening pages of the book.		This volume is dedicated to Phai’s Cheo paintings. Cheo is a popular opera form in the villages of the Red River Delta in North Vietnam. Our Price: US$70.00
		Bui Xuan Phai, Ancient City, Abstract, Self-Portrait Another interesting book by Tran Hau Tuan, which shows many of the artist’s abstract paintings. “Phai did these paintings at a time that abstract was taboo in VietNam. Our Price: US$30.00				The New Generation of Manga Artists Vol.4 Regular price: $14.99 Special!: $8.00
		Bui Xuan Phai – Under the Light of an Oil Lamp A beautiful small package that includes not only a fascinating collection of paintings, but also, writings by Phai, some handwritten, along with many photographs of the artist, his family and friends spanning three decade. Our Price: US$20.00				Bui Xuan Phai - Reflections on Arts The work of Bui Xuan Phai is considered a Vietnamese soul. This new book commemorates the 15th anniversary of the famous artist's death in 1998. Our Price: US$18.00
		Bui Xuan Phai - The life and works Recognized as the definitive work on Phai and his impressive lifelong body of work, it is published to mark the 10th anniversary of the master painter's death. Special Offer Our Price: US$99.00				The book features works by Bui Xuan Phai (1920-1988), mostly on paper and executed between 1956 and 1988 English text, soft cover, 26 x 26 cm, 75 pages, including 160 colour plates