The curator of the exhibition "Dinh Phong Painting and Sculpture" is researcher-curator Vu Huy Thong; the art consultant is sculptor Dao Chau Hai and the documentary photos are taken by Harry Nguyen.
Born in Hanoi and then moving to the South to start a career, Dinh Phong has been involved in the business environment for more than 40 years, but in the past 5 years, he has returned to his childhood passion, which is painting and sculpture. Creation comes to the artist without any strategy or career plan, as he believes: "I come to art because of an inner urge. If I like it, if I find it new, if I feel energetic, then I do it."
Some people call it spontaneous inspiration, others say it is an artist's instinct, but considering the amount of work Dinh Phong has created in 5 years, everyone can see that the artist's creative power is certainly not a moment of inspiration but a continuous process of work.
In the south, Dinh Phong has two separate creative and exhibition spaces with a series of works, from acrylic paintings, metal paintings, bronze statues, stainless steel... The materials are getting heavier, the techniques are getting more complicated and the costs are getting higher. But Dinh Phong works tirelessly, because he sees creation as a state of life.
Sharing about this exhibition, the artist confided: "I live in the present, so my creations also belong to the present. The past or the future is only for research. I work with whatever material inspires me."
Many of Dinh Phong's works have an instinctive appearance, but when looking closely, we can see hidden behind them are contemplations about matter, light, space, and human existence in the universe.
He often does not name his paintings or explain them, believing that imposing names or philosophies will impoverish the viewer's freedom. " Today, I see this way, tomorrow I see something else. I want viewers to be free to think," the artist said. For that reason, both Dinh Phong's paintings and sculptures open up a vague, unnamed emotional field, allowing viewers to find their own way.
In just a short time, Dinh Phong has had 3 solo exhibitions: "Flying Man and Surreal Dream" at Vietnam University of Fine Arts, Hanoi (2020); "Surreal Dream" at Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts (2021); "Dinh Phong Painting-Sculpture" at Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts (2025).
In addition, there is a joint exhibition with Dao Chau Hai in 2022. Not many artists can maintain such a pace of creation and exhibition, especially with bronze and stainless steel sculptures which require much more effort, time, finance and technique than painting.
It is worth mentioning that as time went on, Dinh Phong's artistic journey became clearer. He gradually left acrylic to enter the world of metal, light, and chemical reactions. Researcher Quach Cuong called Dinh Phong's 2024-2025 period the "de-acidification" journey, which means that painting is no longer an activity on the traditional canvas surface but a process of impacting on matter.
The artist has experimented with acid etched copper foil, painted steel plates, heat to oxidize, grinding, hammering, punching, crumpled stainless steel mesh, collage techniques with acrylic... The result is works that are half paintings, half sculptures with surfaces that have depth, weight, reflection, roughness, and a sense of time.
Experts say that in his works, the surface is no longer a background for expression but becomes a living physical body that reacts, changes, oxidizes and dialogues with the environment. Thus, Dinh Phong has had a very special and remarkable impact.
The artist's metal works evoke a sense of geology, cosmos, archaeology, corroded time, eroded memory, the movement of energy... in an aesthetic system that is both material and metaphysical.
Exhibition curator, researcher Vu Huy Thong, commented: "In previous exhibitions, Dinh Phong mainly used acrylic on canvas. The change to metal is a very remarkable transition, opening up a new visual language. The harmony of gray, rusty bronze, and metallic light creates a special aesthetic effect. The artist's abstract motif evokes associations with archaeology, the destruction of time, and layers of ancient memories."
According to curator Vu Huy Thong, Dinh Phong is fully aware of the most important factors in artistic practice, which are the number of works, working time, personal style and exhibition pace.
"It is the emphasis on continuous practice, without being too concerned with aesthetic prejudices, that brings about surprising results. It seems that the pressure of such continuous work will create new values," the researcher said.
As someone who has followed Dinh Phong since the early days, sculptor Dao Chau Hai believes that, for Dinh Phong, visual thinking or art theory is not the core issue. The artist created purely based on personal feelings. Conveying those feelings directly, without hiding, is a rare value in art.
Regarding Dinh Phong's switch from acrylic to metal, he affirmed: "That proves that the artist has hidden talent. Art should not depend on form, language or material. The most important thing is to express personal perception and feelings towards the era." Dao Chau Hai also commented that Dinh Phong has a very good ability to create structures with feelings, which is not easy for a self-taught artist.
The exhibition's 31 works include nearly 15 large-sized metal paintings (some of which are over 10 square meters) and 17 metal sculptures. The combination of the works creates a strong visual space with reflected light, rough surfaces, hollow-solid structures, swirling curves, energy blocks...
With sculptures, Dinh Phong focuses on the void and wants to shape that void. In metal paintings, the artist lets matter speak for itself through chemical changes, light and oxidation. And in Dinh Phong's aesthetics, energy or the universe always appears as abstract, continuous flows.
Artist Dinh Phong lives and creates mainly in the South, but Hanoi is always his first choice when organizing exhibitions. For the artist, this is the land attached to his roots and soul, where he finds deep harmony with history, people and creative space. From there, each exhibition is an opportunity for the public to contemplate the latest works, and at the same time feel the connection of artistic messages that the artist has strived to share and spread.
Source: https://nhandan.vn/trien-lam-hoi-hoa-va-dieu-khac-dinh-phong-post925702.html
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