With a salary of 2 billion/year, the female artist still quit her job in Australia to return to Vietnam to hold a brush.

Working as an auditor in Australia with a salary of 2 billion/year, CAT - the daughter of painter Dao Anh Khanh gave up everything to return home to pursue a career in painting like her parents.

Meet CAT (Dao Anh Tho) - daughter of artist Dao Anh Khanh in the autumn weather of Hanoi , which is as hot as summer. The unusual weather is like the unusualness of the two children in the family of the famous artist couple Dao Anh Khanh - Dao Mai Hien.

Unusually, on the same day, artist Dao Anh Khanh received two phone calls from his two children. CAT - a PhD working in the auditing field in Australia with an income of 2 billion/year decided to quit his job to pursue a field he had never thought of: painting, writing poetry, sculpting, and film directing.

CAT’s younger brother was formally trained in art, has a doctorate, and has loved drawing since he was a child, but he decided to put down his brush and change his career to business. For many people, this was a huge shock, but artist Dao Anh Khanh remained calm, “because he understands his children and has never interfered with their decisions.”

CAT with his work.

The Creator of Dreams

CAT studied abroad in the US at the age of 17, then studied for a year in Japan. She went to China for a year, then studied for more than 4 years in Australia, majoring in economics and finance. Although born into a family with both parents being artists, CAT had never touched a brush since she was young, and had no idea that she would become an artist.

At 30 years old, CAT earned a lot of money but did not feel happy. Working day after day with thousands of numbers on the screen made CAT think life was boring, without purpose, passion, operating like a machine.

The work "Dust of Wandering".

The Covid-19 pandemic gave CAT time to reflect and find her purpose in life. Two days before her 32nd birthday, she encountered an incident. For two days in a row, she was in a state of confusion, unable to distinguish between life and death. She thought she was near death.

Overcoming death, CAT thought in her mind, “I was born to do creative work.” She felt the existence of a “creator” because she saw very beautiful images, half-awake and half-awake. CAT thought she had to draw, if she didn’t draw, she would definitely not be anyone else.

The work "Thinking".

CAT called his father to inform him that he had decided to become a multi-talented artist, drawing, writing poetry, composing songs and directing. After hanging up the phone, CAT immediately took a ballpoint pen and sketched the first lines of a princess hat.

The first completed work was born on September 15, 2022, called Ngam , less than a month after CAT started drawing. She worked 18 hours a day, sometimes drawing until morning, all sketches were in ballpoint pen and without erasing. She believes that her training in economics and finance has honed her ability to be precise to the last detail, not allowing for a single extra or missing stroke.

The work "White rice mother planted".

For the past two years, CAT has been composing non-stop. She does not use social media, only uses a “brick phone” to actively communicate with her family, devoting all her mental and physical energy to creative work. She has sketched nearly 190 works, is working on 130 lacquer works in the studio, and writes poetry and music for each work.

I consider myself to have a good sense of art and have visited many galleries around the world , so I can absorb very quickly what my mother teaches me.

“My mother studied for 14 years to become a painter, but for me, those 14 years were only contained within 1 month. I feel that making art is like my instinct, my breath, but it is only now being expressed. I learned lacquer painting techniques from my mother, 3 sessions a week, 2 hours each session. My mother taught me how to mix colors, paint on paintings, and apply silver,” CAT said.

The work "Hoa Bong Bong".

The more CAT thought and experienced, the more she realized that her initial instinctive judgment was correct, and thanks to the change in her worldview, her life turned a new page.

“Every day I wake up to do the work I love, to live in peace, to be surrounded by the love of my family and friends, to see my children happy and smiling every day. So what has made this miraculous change in me? That is the message encoded in MetaReverse, a letter that will go from the beginning to the end of my artistic life,” CAT shared.

MetaReverse is the name of the first solo exhibition in CAT's painting career.

“Metaverse is a virtual universe, MetaReverse is going against the virtual universe. I use the language of creative art to bring people back to the real world. I want to introduce a new creative language to everyone. I always have an exact idea of ​​when I need to do something. We have to return to life in the real world because I see many negative aspects of the virtual world,” CAT expressed.

The work "Kieu lost soul".

With this exhibition, CAT hopes her paintings will be recognized in Vietnam, thereby creating momentum for her to introduce her works to the world.

“I have been to 13 countries and territories. In the end, I concluded that everything you do must have roots. My roots are Vietnamese. As a Vietnamese, you need the support and motivation of your country to go far.

Everything I do is logically and meticulously arranged, down to the smallest details. My father always said that there is nothing illogical in life, I think so. I see nothing as a waste, it seems that the years working as an auditor have come to my picture. Even the years washing dishes in Australia to earn money to pay for my tuition fees also helped me arrange my work reasonably.

The MetaReverse exhibition with the theme of Rebirth opened on October 22 at 65 Hoang Dieu. The exhibition displays 17 lacquer paintings and 17 ballpoint pen sketches on paper with the names: Ngam, Ke danh vo, Cat bui rong choi, Kieu lac hon, Kidzoona, Xuong cac da, 50k gas tank, Nhac vo nay, Ban trang me troi, Ret, Acid rain, On time, Nhac trong tam toi, Noi luc, Chang meo, Doc dia, Cay tuc me .

After the exhibition in Hanoi, CAT plans to display works in Saigon, Korea, Japan...

Vietnamnet.vn