Painter Hong Quan, son of musician Phan Nhan and artist Phi Dieu: Painting a quiet West

Họa sĩ Hồng Quân, con trai nhạc sĩ Phan Nhân và nghệ sĩ Phi Điểu: Vẽ một miền Tây không ồn ào - Ảnh 1. — Painter Le Xuan Chieu, vice president of the Ho Chi Minh City Fine Arts Association, views the exhibition 'Dawn of the Delta' - Photo: H.VY

Those warm, intimate feelings, "like coming home", are conveyed by artist Hong Quan through more than 200 watercolor paintings on cold-pressed paper, a material he has been creating since 2019.

Nearly 70 of these paintings have just been selected for the exhibition 'Dawn of the Delta', on display from now until July 15 at Maii Art Space (72/7 Tran Quoc Toan, Ho Chi Minh City).

Stories that can't be stopped

With this 7th solo exhibition, the artist continues to bring viewers back to the West with many familiar daily routines that are changing in the dawn of the delta. And watercolor painting is a way for him to write a diary, recording moments that are gradually fading into the past.

These are rivers where boats have gradually become less crowded. Houses no longer face the riverbank, but instead face the inner roads. Floating markets are no longer bustling, the countryside scenes are still familiar but filled with nostalgia in the face of many changes.

Also there, the rustic, simple but vibrant moments of the Western people living on the river are still present and full of memories.

Painter Hong Quan not only recreates real-life moments and nostalgic scenes, but also meticulously observes and preserves every lively, changing rhythm of life in his paintings.

Each water color changes with the rainy and sunny seasons, different between regions, from the river water flowing into the estuary, the change of light on the alluvial stream, and the changes hidden deep in the smiles, eyes, and daily activities of the people in the river region.

As painter Hong Quan himself confided: "I do not paint to beautify life. I paint to preserve the countryside's shadow, to preserve the light, to preserve the old boats, the silver hair sitting watching the afternoon water, the dawns of the delta...".

miền Tây - Ảnh 2. — The familiar image of two boats in the watercolor painting of artist Hong Quan

Painter Hong Quan is the son of musician Phan Nhan and Meritorious Artist Phi Dieu, but he did not follow his parents' profession, but chose to pursue painting. Although he was born in the North, the Mekong Delta - his parents' homeland - became the source of his art.

After graduating from fine arts in Ho Chi Minh City, artist Hong Quan returned to the West, working in the Dong Thap Art Troupe as a design artist. The years of wandering with the troupe left him with a special memory: the memory of an artist in the midst of daily life, between rivers, yellow lights and the sound of oars in the night.

"Those images become the spiritual material throughout my paintings, especially when I switched to experimenting with watercolors. I do not paint to beautify life. I paint to preserve the countryside's shadow, to preserve the light, to preserve the old boats, the silver hair sitting watching the afternoon water, the dawns of the delta...

I believe that a painting, if honest, even just a few strokes, is enough to make people stop for a moment. Like stopping by a small canal, looking at your reflection on the water, and feeling your heart quiet down" - Hong Quan confided.

miền Tây - Ảnh 3. — Painter Hong Quan next to the corners of the Mekong Delta's rivers at the exhibition "Dawn of the Delta" - Photo: H.VY

Use watercolor to paint the shadow of the river countryside

According to artist Phan Trong Van, with this 7th exhibition, Hong Quan continues to affirm his personal painting mark through his unique way of handling composition, color scheme and emotional state.

His paintings do not depict the world in realistic images, but rather deeply express the state of space and emotions, inner silences, blurred memories, or the fragile changes of time.

The watercolor material on cold-pressed paper (arches cold press) is exploited by him calmly and subtly: thin layers of overlapping colors, white spaces on the paper, light streaks like morning dew... All create a space that is both familiar and strange, evoking a sense of calmness and contemplation.

He has reached a mature stage in his creative journey. In each streak of color, viewers not only see the river's shadow, but also the shadow of people, the shadow of the countryside and even their own shadow.

miền Tây - Ảnh 4. — Quietly admiring the paintings of artist Hong Quan at the exhibition 'Dawn of the Delta' - Photo: H.VY

Choosing watercolor to capture the soul of the countryside is also a special experience for artist Hong Quan, because he was formally trained in the oil painting department of Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts.

But watercolor, a material that changes unpredictably, attracts him to explore and conquer, the more he paints, the more in tune he becomes.

The artist confided that in the past, he used to paint with heavy materials, thick colors, and bold compositions. But the more he painted, the lighter it became, lighter in his hands, lighter in his heart. Then one day, he picked up a watercolor brush. The clarity of the colors, the natural mottling of the paper, of the colors… like water soaking into the ground, reminded him of the Southern land.

"Watercolor painting, for me, is a way to slow down, to breathe with the rhythm of the river, to preserve things that seem to slip away with time. I don't try to make my paintings 'technical', but only hope to preserve the soul of the river region: rustic, sincere, but somewhere also tinged with sadness...".

Watercolor is the way I tell stories. And the West is a story I cannot stop telling" - painter Hong Quan affirmed.