Artist Do Son returns with his 5th exhibition.

On October 3rd, art enthusiasts and the public in Hanoi will have the opportunity to admire the artworks that artist Do Son has carefully selected from his nearly 60-year career as a painter.

Báo Nhân dân•01/10/2025

The artwork "A Mother's Heart" by artist Do Son.

Since his 4th solo exhibition in 2008 at Thang Long Gallery, Hanoi, which included paintings from the Moroccan Royal Family's collection, Do Son has returned 17 years later with his 5th solo exhibition, much to the anticipation of the art and painting world .

This exhibition is not only an opportunity for the public to admire his paintings, but also an artistic journey back to memories, emotions, and milestones in his creative work throughout more than half a century of painting – a complete "return" in the artistic space and soul.

The exhibition features 92 artworks and sketches, in a variety of materials. At the exhibition, art lovers will be able to appreciate the resilient transformation and constant renewal in Do Son's art through works ranging from battlefield sketches to later landscape paintings, portraits of young women, still lifes, and nudes.

The works displayed at the exhibition all bear the special mark of his artistic journey. Among them, the painting "Sea Flowers" is a turning point, expressing inspiration from the sea and islands and the artist's inner lyricism. This painting was awarded the State Prize in the 4th round in 2016, and was the only work nominated for the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Art. The oil painting "Sea Flowers" also won a gold medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition on the theme of the Armed Forces in 1984 and is now in the collection of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Although Do Son is an artist deeply involved with themes of war and the military, his paintings of women and everyday life reveal a different world: gentle, discreet, rich in poetry, and contemplative. These are spaces where viewers not only "see" but also "feel"—the beauty of tranquility, of everyday life, and of the artist's inner self.

Besides paintings of islands, soldiers, and landscapes, paintings of young women, interiors, still lifes, and everyday life occupy a significant part of his artistic journey. This is his "feminine space"—where he expresses a gentle, profound, and very personal world.

The inspiration and positive influence from the ahead-of-its-time creative spirit of the Western artists he admired also contributed to the diversity of Do Son's later paintings, especially the boldness and youthfulness in his use of primary, vibrant colors that were neither harsh nor ostentatious.

For him, each painting is a lesson in one or more specific aspects of his overall artistic expertise. It could be about how to combine primary colors, how to handle aesthetic details, how to manage space... One might notice details and compositions repeated in more than one nude painting, lotus pond painting, or painting depicting rural memories, but the color palette and emotions evoked by the figures are never repeated.

The feminine and everyday spaces in Do Son's paintings are the "breathing space" of art – allowing viewers not only to admire the paintings but also to find a sense of connection. This also enriches the artist's portrait: he is not only a chronicler of history, but also a guardian of the emotions, beauty, and poetry of everyday life.

Artist Do Son, born in 1943, studied at the Vietnam College of Fine Arts (now the Vietnam University of Fine Arts) and was closely associated with the military environment – he witnessed a turbulent period in the art world.

After graduating from the Vietnam College of Fine Arts (now the Vietnam University of Fine Arts) in the 1961-1964 academic year, he enlisted in the army and spent many years working and fighting in the Zone V battlefield. In 1971, he was wounded and transferred to the North for treatment before returning to work at the People's Army Newspaper.

With a burning desire to create art always present within him, he was determined to enroll in the 5-year program at the Vietnam College of Fine Arts, academic year 1973-1978, even though he was 30 years old at the time, had his own family and young children, and faced many material difficulties.

After graduating, he returned to work at the Army Fine Arts Workshop, Vietnam Military History Museum, until his retirement. As he shared: Throughout his life, he considered himself to have only done his one professional job, which was painting; he did no other work and played no other role.

Besides the 8 works in the collection of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, his paintings have been collected by organizations and individuals in 26 countries and territories outside Vietnam, including the Singapore Art Museum, the Moroccan Royal Family Collection, and the Mobil Art Collection in the USA.

On October 3rd at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition "Paintings by Do Son" will showcase 92 paintings and sketches in diverse materials by artist Do Son – a name that has made significant contributions to the innovation and development of Vietnamese fine arts since the early 1980s, especially during the Doi Moi (Renovation) period of the country in general and of artistic creation in particular.

The 92 artworks and sketches in this exhibition were selected from the artist's family archives, including some that were painted more recently.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hoa-si-do-son-tro-lai-with-trien-lam-lan-thu-5-post911977.html