Admire the art of "painting" with fibers by artist Thao Nguyen Phuong

For Thao Nguyen Phuong, yarn is no longer just a material. It becomes a “painting brush” – where ideas are sewn into each stitch, each layer of fabric. She calls her technique “fiber layering” – completely hand-sewn, overlapping many layers of yarn to create a thick, rich surface and visual depth.

Enjoying works in the exhibition "Fiber". Photo: Thuy Du

Sharing about choosing a unique and almost pioneering artistic path in Vietnam, artist Thao Nguyen Phuong said that starting from her passion for traditional hand embroidery techniques, she gradually realized that what she was looking for was not just delicate needlework, but expression, where the thread becomes the material of painting. There is no fixed pattern. Everything starts with a block of color in the head, then gradually, the thread "talks" to the thread, until the colors blend together like breathing.

Artist Thao Nguyen Phuong shares about her works. Photo: BTC

Artist Thao Nguyen Phuong combines many diverse techniques: traditional and modern stitching, appliqué, thread spreading, layering threads… and especially “color sense”, which means using the artist’s subtlety and intuition to complete the work. Each thread, each stitch not only creates an image, but also preserves the beat, breath and passion of a fiber artist.

The exhibition “Fiber” is the result of 10 years of Thao Nguyen Phuong’s quiet pursuit of a genre that has almost never been mentioned in Vietnam. The artist wants to invite the public and art lovers to enter for the first time a world that she calls “where yarn breathes”.

The exhibition takes viewers through four spaces, corresponding to the stages of maturity in the creative journey of artist Thao Nguyen Phuong.

The first is “Unfinished”, where unfinished works, tangled threads, and misaligned stitches are displayed. Instead of hiding them, the artist chooses to expose the flaws as part of the journey – because for her, beauty sometimes lies in the incompleteness.

Next is “Inheritance”, a space that marks the process of learning and practicing. Here, she “redraws” famous works with yarn, not to copy, but to dialogue with her predecessors, trying to feel an old language through new materials.

The exhibition attracted the attention of many art lovers. Photo: Thuy Du

Moving on to “Ego”, viewers begin to see clearly the strong and instinctive character of the artist. The overlapping layers of threads create the feeling of self-woven emotional patches, intersecting the boundary between reality and memory.

The final space is “Beginning” which includes the most complete works, the crystallization of more than 2 years of the artist’s painstaking hand-stitching. This space also opens a new beginning of creativity.

To complete each work in the exhibition “Fiber”, artist Thao Nguyen Phuong spent 5 months, sometimes up to 3 years. Every step was done by hand. In the artist’s studio, there were not only needles and threads but also hammers, drills, staple guns, lamps, wrenches, and rulers like a carpentry workshop. The artist herself built the frame, stretched the fabric, nailed, and fixed each layer of yarn.

Impressive works at the exhibition. Photo: Organizing Committee

For nearly 10 years, Thao Nguyen Phuong has been self-studying, experimenting, making mistakes and correcting them to find her own language. Without a fixed blueprint, she starts from her emotions - letting the thread guide her, letting each layer of thread blend into shape, color, and breath.

The artist said that the journey with fiber does not stop at the painting frame. She believes that fiber art can go further, step out of the exhibition room to be present in life, not only for decoration, but also for interaction.

The exhibition "Fiber" runs until November 7.

Some corners of the exhibition space: