Stage artist Do Doan Chau 'Gratitude for life'

Traveling into the world of his paintings, we see there a "monument" of love and family happiness; we see there the passion in discovering the simple qualities of life. His life is like a play full of climaxes, and Doan Chau uses the language of painting as a stage to perform his life through each work.

In the past, you painted the stage to serve the audience, now you paint to serve yourself, is that true for you?

Painting for the stage will be based on the script and plot; painting is not like that, because those are two different purposes. Painting expresses emotions, the stage is the same, but the painter is not the master, the stage painter must serve the director. When painting, the director demands a theme, and must serve according to the intention to bring the content of the play to the audience in the best way. But when I switch to painting for myself, I put the play of my life into the painting.

In a trance with a jumble of personal thoughts and feelings

But looking at his paintings, it is really hard to guess. When artists become famous, they have their own language, but Do Doan Chau "performs" on a multilingual "stage", why?

I don't paint Do Doan Chau, I don't use my name as a shield. I am a multi-style painter, my paintings include landscapes, portraits, still life, classical style of painting, and contemporary paintings such as abstract, expressionist, surrealist... The brushwork is sometimes meticulous and serious, sometimes free and airy, depending on the moment's emotions. I don't limit or follow any style, people look at my paintings and say they are looking at 7-8 painters, I am happy, that is me.

A messy Hanoi at rush hour, but still has a hidden beauty in the style of Doan Chau

As a lover of Hanoi, you describe that "love" with colors that make many people fascinated, even though it is sometimes accompanied by dust, frustration, traffic jams, and crowded houses. Can you explain why?

I always want to look at life with a positive eye. Life must move forward, Hanoi may be like this or that, but I am not hurt by that. I am over 80 years old this year, what is there to be pessimistic about, my friends of the same age "twenty-fifty" are almost gone, I am still here, now I spend about 70% of my time drawing every day. I consider drawing as a way to "Grateful for life" - also the name of my solo exhibition taking place at E Teu Gallery (Ecopark urban area, Van Giang district, Hung Yen ).

Discovering beauty in imperfection, it seems that because of that, his use of color has changed a lot over time, recently showing more clearly the jubilant, joyful look?

That is the intention, the philosophy of life. I think that no matter how scandalous life is, we should not lose our love for life, do not let pessimism ruin our life, do not let pessimism make us sad and miserable. Life's joys and sorrows are emotions, and we must know how to control our emotions to choose to live positively, think positively.

Late Xam singing artist Ha Thi Cau through Doan Chau's painting

But as a human being, sadness is unavoidable. Have you ever drawn "sadness"?

Yes, I paint the beauty of sadness, paint sad emotions. For example, in the work about Prague (Prague, capital of the Czech Republic - Editor's note), I suddenly woke up one morning and missed Prague, so I painted the sadness of the past, but it was a sadness of longing, not a pessimistic sadness.

Looking at the self-portrait of Me of Today , I see a sad expression, not as happy as when listening to him tell the story. Does he have any hidden meaning in that endless sadness?

That is a nostalgic portrait, and also a thought about life. I painted my thoughts, at that time I was thinking that I was not living for myself anymore, but living so that my children and grandchildren would take that as an example, to make life more meaningful. I call it a thoughtful portrait. A portrait that raises a problem, I think that is a good portrait.

He considers himself a multi-style painter, perhaps deeply influenced by stage decoration?

That's right, the most important thing in the art of theater is the content of the ideas conveyed to the audience. The artist is not a simple decorator, a painter, or a director's lackey, but must coordinate with the director to convey the best content of the play to the audience. Each play is different, it cannot be decorated the same, for example, today I do Shakespeare, tomorrow I do Tran Huyen Tran, then plays by Van Cao, Kim Lan... Therefore, I create for myself a multi-style Do Doan Chau.

I am proud to be the person who has worked with the most directors in Vietnam, from Dinh Quang, Duong Ngoc Duc, Nguyen Dinh Nghi, Doan Hoang Giang, Ngoc Phuong, Pham Thi Thanh... to the younger generations through the ages, countless, that creates a multi-style Doan Chau, able to satisfy the requirements of many generations of directors.

Notre Dame Cathedral Fire, Emotions Reached a Climax, Work Completed in 1 Day (April 17, 2019)

You paint many subjects, there must be something you like or a strength that you often show?

What I like most is drawing life, drawing the personalities of ordinary people. For example, in a group of card players, I sit and observe, then describe the personalities of each person while holding the cards. Or the scene of Hanoi's Old Quarter, old people buying flowers to burn incense, or the image of two young sisters waiting for their mother, to the girls going to the spirit mediums, hair salons, scrap dealers, playing chess on the sidewalk, pho stalls...; topics that bring out the essence of life fascinate me.

Live happily, think positively to continue the rest of your life, that is Do Doan Chau

Traveling all over the world, only to return to an imperfect slice of life, still vaguely filled with many human concerns, it's easy to fall into a negative perspective, why are you so fascinated with life?

Because it makes me have to observe, have to approach, be very close, worry, and wonder a lot to see in the badness of life, there are many good things, beautiful things, small but precious, every time I realize that beauty, I feel very happy. And the quality of life also brings back to me many memories of the past, emotions.

At the age of 80, stage artist and People's Artist Do Doan Chau is still full of energy for life and painting.

Having stood at the threshold of life and death, having tasted all the sweetness and bitterness of life, have you ever put those bitterness and sweetness into your paintings, and how would it be?

In my paintings, there is always dynamism, language, content, and positivity. Life has had many ups and downs. But that doesn't mean I make myself miserable; when I'm sad or upset, I try to find joy in it.

Ask more about "inserting" messages like Do Doan Chau into paintings, is it easy to detect?

It's hard to see, for example, when I paint life on the Red River, you have to be observant to recognize the ferryman, in the middle of the vast river, looking up at the sky, not knowing what tomorrow will bring. I like to put a problem in the painting, no matter how big or small. Each character follows a different path, for example, in the work "Len Dong", everyone is drunk, I like something to have a problem. The surface of the canvas is like a stage, it must have a message.

He painted many portraits, not like a photograph, but as if the portrait were alive, able to converse with the person opposite?

I had a solo exhibition nearly 10 years ago, only introducing portraits of famous artists such as Dao Mong Long, Doan Hoang Giang, Phung Huy Binh, The Anh, Doan Dung... The common point is that the portraits are very dynamic. Why dynamic? Because it always reminds me and everyone who thinks of me that I am a stage painter, the stage element is expressed through the brushstrokes, the work must have a stage quality, must be dynamic. That speaks to the inner strength or character of the person in the portrait, for example, Dao Mong Long is someone who has always played the role of portraying strong personalities, Van Hiep is the same...

In theatrical art, there are quiet moments and climaxes. Do your paintings express that?

Yes, there is a climax in the painting. Many works of emotion rise in 1 minute, and must be painted immediately. For example, in the early morning of April 17, 2019, I couldn't sleep, woke up to watch TV and saw the scene of Notre Dame Cathedral burning, I cried because the scene was so sad, I immediately took out my paint and painted, and in 1 day that painting was completed.

People's Artist Do Doan Chau and Meritorious Artist Bich Thu, a "symbol" of love through many generations

Stage painting is limited by content, coordinated by the director, while painting is freely done according to your own ideas . If you had a choice, what would you rather paint?

I like everything, because everything is good, talking about theater is fascinating, because it is blood, it is life, its content is good, the quality of life is stronger than painting, the ideas are also stronger because they have been filtered, for example, thinking of a bunch of messy things, but condensing them into 2-3 details on stage and the director knows how to take advantage of those details, it is even better. Painting is just you and me, free, doing what you like.

Stage painting is just for decoration, is that right?

Only partly true. I remember the time I went back to Nam Dinh, I decorated the play Summer at the Sea by the late author Xuan Trinh, about the renovation process, directed by Pham Thi Thanh. I thought for a long time, and finally on stage I only made two numbers, one 5 and one 8, very big, beautifully expressed, thick, and could be reversed, sometimes 58, sometimes 85. What is the meaning here? It's like, gentlemen! It's 85 now, not 58 anymore. That's how I think about the stage, the decoration is not only beautiful, but also expresses the content, and is profound, that's what makes it fun.

In the field of stage decoration, there are many foreign plays. Have you ever combined "Vietnamese" and "Western" features?

There are many, take the play King Lia as an example. Talking about the decoration for this play, in Europe people have worn it out; when I performed it, I combined the stage of traditional puppetry, put it into the decoration, creating a truly surprising effect even for foreign friends. I received many compliments from my colleagues, even many people tried to find out where I copied it but couldn't find it. That's not because I'm good, but just inheriting and developing the "Ta" quality in my blood.

Thank you!

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