”The Source of Life” – Solo Exhibition by Vu Hong Nguyen

The exhibition showcases 25 Son mai (lacquer) paintings created during the last 10 years.

“Guided by natural forces, for ten years I’ve been thinking constantly about the connections of all things in the universe. Also during the same period of time, I’ve started to express my feelings about what I discovered or imagined when things were beyond my vision. The expressions were translated into extraordinary and unreal rivers flowing through the quiet surface of lacquer.

In my imaginary flights up in the air, like a bird, I can see endless fields meandering along winding rivers, and forests with hidden small paths stretching towards the horizon. The paths beneath me turn into a map of memories, not only about the things given to me in life, but also to the migratory birds on their lifelong pilgrimage.

The source of life, so immense yet so close, is a breath flowing into the void within seconds, an underground river flowing quietly or in a rush, or roots sending sap to trunk, branches, buds, changing relentlessly in the natural world", said Vu Nguyen Hong.

Vu Nguyen Hong was born in 1976 in Hai Duong, Vietnam. He graduated from Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts in 2000, and was admitted member of Vietnam Fine Arts Association in 2003 after his successful debut solo exhibition.

Nguyen chooses to work with lacquer, oil, acrylic and composite materials as the media to express his personal artistic language. In his world of arts, space, time and anything that belongs to the nature are always preset with a very exotic emotion. A modest and serious artist with a critical and disciplined working manner, besides his success with oil, acrylic and composite materials, Nguyen has come a long way in contemporary arts with his oriental lacquer work. Relentless exploration and creativity has brought him many new techniques in creating new materials and achieving super flat surfaces. Nguyen is regarded as one of the flagship young artists working with lacquer in Vietnam.

Beside his love for painting, Nguyen is also active in several other activities to promote the overall development of Vietnam’s arts. He was invited by an art-loving businessman to develop the concept and development orientation for an art project involving painting and sculpture in Vietnam. In 2015, Art In The Forest was launched in Flamingo Dai Lai Resort. After two years in operation, the project has received high appreciations from art professionals and art lovers.