Ngo Xuan Khoi – The artist of illustrations

Nurturing the dream of being an artist in the army

Ngo Xuan Khoi was born in 1961 in Vinh City, Nghe An . Since his junior high school years, he has had a burning passion for painting. Painter Xuan Khoi recalls that when he joined the army to serve in the Northern border war, due to his talent for painting and writing, his superiors considered him to work in the Propaganda Department. Everything came to him by chance when in the army he was the one who drew slogans, created propaganda posters... besides working as a librarian, in charge of keeping library books for the Regiment.

Working hard, enthusiastically and accumulating a lot of experience from the military, Mr. Xuan Khoi at that time nurtured the dream of becoming a painter to contribute to the country. However, to become a real painter, it was necessary to pass the university entrance exam, and his goal was to enter the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts.

“When I joined the army, the regime only gave each soldier 6 months of stamps to buy rice. After 6 months, if I couldn’t find a job, it would be very difficult to get food. I was very worried and my family asked me to become a forest ranger, but I didn’t go because I still had a dream of becoming a painter,” painter Xuan Khoi recalled.

After being discharged from the army in 1982, it was not until 1985 that artist Ngo Xuan Khoi passed the entrance exam to the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts. During his years of study, he always achieved excellent academic results and when he graduated in 1991 (majoring in mural and monumental paintings), it was also a time when jobs were difficult for students after graduation. Luckily, he was able to work at the Foreign Literature Publishing House, which later changed to the World Publishing House. The time working here was the beginning of the development of his painting career later on.

Painter Xuan Khoi recounted that at that time he started to get used to the new job, which was very different from school. At school, the grandeur meant drawing large paintings, associated with architecture, while at Ngoai Van Publishing House, the paintings were very small (smaller than an A4 sheet with a size of 13x19), forcing him to get used to it and adapt gradually. "Working in this environment, I got to meet many writers, poets, and artists, from colleagues in the publishing house to getting acquainted with the newspaper offices at that time" - painter Ngo Xuan Khoi recounted.

Artist Ngo Xuan Khoi is proactive in everything, he even draws his own pictures (caricatures) to send to newspapers such as Tien Phong Newspaper, Nhan Dan Newspaper, Lao Dong Newspaper... The joy for him at that time was like the joy of discovery, of learning about his own limits. According to artist Ngo Xuan Khoi, the genre of caricature has a high sense of humor, the artist must find a structure, a slightly exaggerated way of drawing.

“Street” (1995) by artist Ngo Xuan Khoi - Photo: Dinh Trung

Artist Ngo Xuan Khoi recounted that while working at The Gioi Publishing House, he was fortunately introduced by a poet to Van Nghe Newspaper and here he collaborated on a few initial issues. With good knowledge and experience, he drew more often for Van Nghe Newspaper. “Here, I also worked for many other newspapers such as Van Nghe Cong An Newspaper, Van Nghe Quan Doi Newspaper… From there, people got to know me and gradually formed the illustration brand of Ngo Xuan Khoi” - the artist confided.

Bringing Vietnamese culture into illustrations and memorable memories with the 31st SEA Games logo

The 63-year-old artist confided that his work chose him, he did not choose his work. This was fate, luck, or more deeply, fate wanted him to pursue a career in painting. Until now, artist Xuan Khoi still did not think he would become a graphic designer, designing book covers and drawing illustrations.

“In the minds of journalists who have asked me about my paintings, someone once wrote about me with the topic: “The painter is indebted to colors”, because most people think that painters have to paint large paintings to hang on the wall, not to draw illustrations or book covers. Not really, painting can draw many things and I am drawing a small branch of fine arts because I was not chosen from the beginning but by fate, fate has pushed me to become the creator of illustrations and many people know me through those pictures” - said painter Ngo Xuan Khoi.

Sharing about his profession, he believes that if an artist wants to be successful, draw beautiful pictures and leave many emotions for readers, above all, they must love what they are doing. For artists who draw illustrations in literature and journalism, in addition to passion, they need to focus and spend time reading a lot and learning about the cultures of different regions. Knowing many stories and characters in literature and journalism, etc., when drawing, they will be able to absorb and create the most unique works of art.

“Illustrators need to perceive the message that literature conveys. In addition to understanding the content of the work, artists need to have extensive knowledge of regional culture. Writers mostly work intensively on a familiar field and can re-create that environment. But artists are almost commissioned, and what an artist needs most, in addition to understanding literary works, is a cultural background, materials, understanding, and daily knowledge enrichment. And more importantly, how to draw so that readers recognize this as their style,” the artist shared.

As a lover of traditional Vietnamese culture, folk art has long been deeply ingrained in the mind of artist Ngo Xuan Khoi. An interesting feature of him is that regardless of whether the illustration is in literature or journalism, the artist always brings into it the culture of the nation, along with the meaning expressed in each work.

It was this “strangeness” that made artist Ngo Xuan Khoi chosen to illustrate the short story “Missing the Countryside” by famous writer Nguyen Huy Thiep when he had only worked with the Literature and Arts Newspaper for a few issues. After that, he was also trusted to illustrate many other literary works such as “Carrying Rice to the Pagoda”, “Mau Thuong Ngan” by writer Nguyen Xuan Khanh; “Nhung Thuong Thuong” by writer Nguyen Binh Phuong… and these book covers won the beautiful cover and beautiful book awards of the Publishing Association.

However, one of the most memorable memories in the 63-year-old artist's artistic career is the illustration of Sao La at the 31st SEA Games in Vietnam. He recounted that in order to create a work symbolizing the host country of the 2022 Southeast Asian Games, his emotions were like a sine wave, reaching the peak and trough of emotions. Thanks to the process of accumulating knowledge from reading books, newspapers... he chose to draw a stylized image of Sao La.

Artist Ngo Xuan Khoi and the Sao La mascot - the symbol of the 31st SEA Games in 2022. Photo: Dinh Trung

Artist Ngo Xuan Khoi confided that each mascot symbolizing the country hosting a sporting event has a specific cultural meaning of that place, for example, the Beijing Olympics chose the panda, the 1980 Russian Olympics, the host country, chose the Misa bear as its mascot. The Sao La mascot of host Vietnam is special in that this animal was first discovered in Vietnam and is currently listed in the Red Book of the World Conservation Union and the Vietnam Red Book.

“When drawing symbols or logos, artists need to distinguish between two issues: cultural products must have identity, while products that are goods must have global and human characteristics. Drawing mascots for sporting events must have the identity of the region where they take place or are being held,” said artist Ngo Xuan Khoi.

Regarding journalism, he confided that artists who want to draw for the press must be very active and sensitive. The time factor and topicality in journalism require artists to be quick and handle works promptly. Having been involved in publishing for nearly 30 years, artist Ngo Xuan Khoi has created hundreds of unique and attractive works for many newspapers.

Successful in painting, being the author of many famous literary and press illustrations, artist Ngo Xuan Khoi believes that if you are dedicated and wholehearted, even small work will still be recognized and appreciated by others for your dedication. If you go all out with painting, you will create your own brand. Along with the constant enrichment of knowledge and culture through reading books, newspapers, and practical experience, artists only need to touch it to be able to use it and confidently create art.

Vietnamese Chinese

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/ngo-xuan-khoi--nguoi-hoa-si-cua-nhung-hinh-minh-hoa-post300198.html