With any adjustment of the Western eye, contemporary art fragments into equally ambiguous subcategories like conceptual art, postmodern art and avant garde art. Rarely are contemporary audiences afforded any artistic experience without the burdens of quasi-intellectualist nonsense.

A Winding River: The Journey of Contemporary Art in Vietnam, on exhibit at St. Mary’s College, is a reminder that art should not be reduced to such inflated vocabulary, and that it can be appreciated purely for its intuitive impact.

The 51 paintings in this exhibit, which date from the 1940s through the 1990s, provide an overview of the artistic immersion in European art after 1925, when the French opened Vietnam’s first art school,the Ecole de Beaux Arts. As such, the art is characterized by a open synthesis of both European and Asian technique (in style and material) with the independently Asian folk sentimentality.

Despite conflict with Western imperialism, Vietnamese painters do not seem concerned with political criticism and have instead embraced European art on its merits. Fortunately, contemporary Vietnamese art seems not to have evolved toward (or hopefully has bypassed) the self-righteousness common in 20th-century art. For these artists, beauty and humanity suffice.

While the paintings themselves acknowledge the influence of both French impressionist landscapes and surrealist narrative unconsciousness, the focus remains on Vietnamese folk imagery. In particular, subjects like teapots and the buffalo, as in Tran Quoc Long’s Girl, Buffalo and Moon (middle right), show artistic reverence for tradition, if even in abstracted form.

Traditional musical instruments also appear in several paintings, including Buu Chi’s evocative Blind Man with Monochord (top left). In this piece, the blind man finds himself separated from his plucking hand, but concentrates to hear the music, nonetheless.

Folk forms notwithstanding, a select few in the exhibit also document the changing landscape of Vietnam. Ley Huy Tiep’s surreal Creation (top right) is certainly the most intriguing piece in this collection. We are presented with a Mexican mural-style painting, in which the protagonist rejects her urban landscape that tempts her daughter.

Like this piece, the exhibit itself testifies to the artists’ acceptance of influences outside Vietnam, even across the Pacific. As contemporary Vietnamese painting finally becomes visible to American audiences, we find that we are able to embrace this art without any reference to the controversy that the country it represents.

A Winding River is on exhibit through April 25 at St. Mary’s College, Hearst Art Gallery, 1928 St. Mary’s Road, Moraga Calif. Gallery hours are 11 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wednesday-Sunday. A $1 donation is suggested. For more information, call 925-631-4379.