“Da Lat-Ban Me” in the paintings of artist Nguyen Bao Chau

On June 21, at the ancient villa area Cadasa Da Lat, Tran Hung Dao street, Da Lat city, artist Nguyen Bao Chau organized a painting exhibition with the theme: "Da Lat-Ban Me, two halves of the plateau".

The event commemorates the 132nd anniversary of Dr. Alexandre Yersin's discovery of Lang Biang plateau (June 21, 1893 - June 21, 2025), where a city could be built on land 1,500m above sea level, which is the beautiful city of Da Lat today.

Painter Nguyen Bao Chau was born in 1944 in Bac Ninh ; currently lives, paints and teaches painting in Da Lat city. He used to live and work in Buon Ma Thuot city, Dak Lak province. In 1984, to realize his dream from his student days, he brought his whole family to live in the land of thousands of flowers, Da Lat.

Artist Nguyen Bao Chau shared at the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Da Lat-Ban Me, two halves of the plateau".

Painter Nguyen Bao Chau is a teacher who specializes in teaching drawing to many generations of students who wish to pursue a career in fine arts, architecture, etc. He shared: “After more than 40 years of living and working in the Central Highlands, because I love the land of Ban Me (Buon Ma Thuot) and Da Lat, I want to organize a personal exhibition, with a part of the works created in these two beautiful highlands. Through that, I want to express my love for the two highlands that I have been attached to, especially the flower city of Da Lat”.

The public comes to the exhibition "Da Lat-Ban Me, two halves of the plateau" by artist Nguyen Bao Chau.

With the theme: “Da Lat-Ban Me, two halves of the plateau”, the exhibition introduces to the public 35 oil and gouache paintings, selected from hundreds of works by artist Nguyen Bao Chau created in these two lands. Of these, 25 works were created in the land of thousands of flowers, Da Lat, about the natural landscape, architecture, and people here.

Works created in Ban Me by artist Nguyen Bao Chau.

Artist Nguyen Bao Chau said that in the first days of setting foot in the new land of Ban Me, he planted coffee and created paintings. Some of his works were created in the coffee garden while still covered in sweat. “Ban Me and Da Lat are not my hometown, but they are my flesh and blood. In particular, I love Da Lat very much. Since my student days, I have searched for documents about this land. Now I can live fully in Da Lat,” artist Nguyen Bao Chau shared.

Works created in Dalat by artist Nguyen Bao Chau.

He still remembers clearly that the first works he created in Da Lat were landscapes and ancient architecture on Quang Trung Street, then Co Giang Street and many other spaces in the dreamland.

A French language teacher in Da Lat enjoys the work "Yersin explores the Central Highlands".

Along with works about landscapes and ancient architecture such as Da Lat train station, ancient villas, cathedral, Da Lat college, Xuan Huong lake... There are two works that painter Nguyen Bao Chau had to painstakingly research, study documents and blend into the context and space to create, which are the two oil paintings "Yersin explores the Central Highlands" and "Yersin discovers Lang Biang plateau".