Memories of Hanoi through lacquer paintings by artist Nguyen Minh Hai

Taking place from October 24 to 30, the exhibition “Memory Land” introduces to the public 45 large-scale lacquer paintings by artist Nguyen Minh Hai, including the largest work measuring 150cm x 300cm.

Painter Nguyen Minh Hai shared: “Lacquer, a typical Vietnamese painting material that requires patience, meticulousness and a deep aesthetic sense, is the material that I love and have created the most in recent times. Lacquer is not only a means of expression but also an expressive artistic language, with layers of deep colors and smooth, flat surfaces creating visual depth and emotion.

According to the artist, “Memory Land” is a space that recreates cultural fragments, familiar images of the countryside, of nature, of lotus, of corners of Hanoi, all transformed through the artist’s inner prism. Each work is a slice of time, a moment preserved by light, color, by lipstick, by gold, by silver, reminding viewers of things that seem to have been forgotten.

In the exhibition, viewers will encounter many familiar images of Hanoi such as Khue Van Cac, The Huc Bridge, Long Bien Bridge, O Quan Chuong, One Pillar Pagoda, Thay Pagoda, water pavilions, village communal houses, lotus ponds... expressed in the depths of memory, where traditions and personal emotions converge between classical materials and modern thinking.

Commenting on the exhibition "Memory Land" and paintings by artist Nguyen Minh Hai, artist Ha Huy Hiep said that what Nguyen Minh Hai clearly meant was returning to the memory land to grow up, not returning to the impulsiveness and wandering of a certain time when the author indulged in worldly pleasures.

Viewing the exhibition “Memory Land”, the audience is not surprised by Nguyen Minh Hai’s theme, but is surprised that a calm person has such strong movements in his writing style. Each work is like practicing a deep meditation session. Still in the old body but moving in the open mind, with abundant cosmic energy.

“Looking at paintings to recognize Nguyen Minh Hai is one thing, looking at paintings to recognize the artistic elements in oneself is much more. The author Nguyen Minh Hai has returned to his roots and is still intact,” artist Ha Huy Hiep expressed.