Tran Duy, an amazing sculptor from Vietnam, is making waves in the art world by his breathtaking wooden sculptures. The variety he creates in wood is certainly commendable and it seems nothing is impossible for this woodcarver.
Duy grew up hearing the sounds of chisels scraping and smelling freshly sawn-off sawdust. This image lingered in his mind even when he enrolled in the College of Arts at Hue University, Hue, Vietnam. So strong was his desire to pick up the chisel that he dropped out of college to become a woodcarver, following in the footsteps of his brothers and uncles in his village.
On the website, thanhnien.vn, he states, “Until now I still think that the decision to quit school at that time was right because it saved me a lot of time. I’ve time to learn new skills like a sculpture and also have time to do my favorite things, such as traveling alone in a foreign country.”
Duy started out by learning the basic techniques and honed his skills for three years to turn from an apprentice to a true artisan. During this period, he tried his hand at reliefs, sculptures, and portraits. But all this was Buddha-centric since Buddhist deities sold well.
It wasn’t long before Duy was overcome by the desire to do something new. He wanted to make something he liked, rather than something he worshipped. As a first, he decided to create Goku, a fictional character and the main protagonist of the Japanese Dragon Ball manga series.
