The exhibition "Looking for Memories" by artist Doan Quoc brings together 31 watercolor works created recently. With three consistent themes inspired by the nation's origins, it is like a film rewinding to the past, where the artist, like a child far from home, returns to the memories of a moss-covered Hanoi, an ancient Hue citadel, a little bit of light left over from yesterday...
It seems that all are memories of the past that make the artist long to search, collect, preserve, cherish and express through the beauty of painting, where colors and light spread.
"Searching for Memories" by artist Doan Quoc brings together 31 watercolor works created recently.
Up to now, there have been many paintings about Hanoi, but they are usually created at that moment, on that street corner, rarely looking back to the past. But with young artist Doan Quoc, it is different. He takes viewers back in time, recreating an old Hanoi full of nostalgia. Through delicate strokes, the male artist has proven that even things that seem to have gradually faded over time can still be brought back to life through painting.
Talking to Travellive reporter, artist Doan Quoc shared: "Hanoi and Hue are two typical cultural regions of Vietnam clearly shown in this exhibition. Each stroke, each color carries the breath of time. For me, the gentle flow of each day will help me visualize and clearly feel the old memories. The watercolor paintings are like a play of light, highlighting each bright and dark color, evoking deep thoughts in the viewer's heart. Through that, we seem to relive old moments, relive the beauty of traditional culture."
Painter Doan Quoc speaks at the exhibition
The work "The light burdens return"
The work "Capital Night"
Painter Doan Quoc's full name is Doan Cao Quoc, born in 1996 in Quang Ngai. He graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts and belongs to the second generation of watercolor painters in Vietnam. He is one of the few Vietnamese to be awarded the International Watercolor Masters certificate from the British International Watercolor Society and has participated in and won many prestigious awards.
These include: IWS international watercolor exhibitions at the Ho Chi Minh City Museum of Fine Arts, Young Artists BIENNALE 2019, Fabriano international watercolor exhibition in Italy, participation in the international Sketch Tour in Can Tho; IWS international watercolor exhibition in Indonesia, IWS in Bangladesh, IWS in Dubai, IWS India... In 2020 alone, Doan Quoc's paintings were awarded third prize in the international watercolor exhibition held in France. He also won an A prize in the creative camp exhibition of the Ho Chi Minh City Union of Literature and Arts Associations...
Painter Doan Quoc's full name is Doan Cao Quoc, born in 1996 in Quang Ngai. He graduated from the Ho Chi Minh City University of Fine Arts and belongs to the second generation in Vietnam to paint watercolors.
"Looking for Memories" is the second solo exhibition but the first one organized by Doan Quoc in Hanoi. Not born and raised in Hanoi, he compares himself to a strange traveler who is looking at Thang Long with all the new, pure love, curiosity and infatuation. "After all, those are the personal emotional perspectives of the flower show for Hanoi that we dare not consider as in-depth research reconstructions of a specific historical period," said the artist.
"An early winter morning"
Artist Doan Quoc also added that, as a link between the past and the present, objects like witnesses of history and time, through many changes of ownership, the rise and fall of times... have spoken of nostalgia and the past. In addition to Hanoi and Hue, still lifes were also included by artist Doan Quoc in his paintings in this exhibition.
Here are chrysanthemums, roses, lotus flowers... the beauties that have been associated with the Vietnamese people since ancient times. That beauty shines brightly, spreading its fragrance in a way that is both quiet and lively, both mysterious and fragile, both free and bound, both wanting to rise proudly and yet wanting to droop down to rest, both clear and turbid, both real and unreal... Are these contradictions the mirror reflecting the multifaceted fates of many people, when they are alone, when they are entwined together, relying on each other to reach for the light? Looking back at history, looking back at nostalgia, is actually to illuminate one's own ego today.
In addition to Hanoi and Hue, still life paintings were also included by artist Doan Quoc in his paintings in this exhibition.
Looking at the paintings of artist Doan Quoc, viewers can see the ingenuity with which he subtly brings the quintessence of traditional Vietnamese culture into his paintings. Like the vases in his paintings, it is easy to recognize the famous Vietnamese ceramic line, or the still lifes dotted around the vases all have sophisticated shapes.
Commenting on Doan Quoc, artist Le The Anh said: "We all see that looking back to the past to paint is not an easy thing. Painting about Hanoi that is your own is even more difficult. Perhaps, Quoc looked back to the past to do something different, a different perspective on Hanoi. The lines are liberal, flexible, but precise, they converge enough abundant emotions controlled by a mature technique. It can be said that Quoc's paintings are very poetic. The poetry of a romantic who loves life, full of energy and emotion. No one would think that a very young artist born in 1996 would have such impressive exhibitions."
The exhibition "Searching for Memories" by artist Doan Quoc opens from August 10 to August 18, 2024 at the Vietnam Museum of Fine Arts, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc, Ba Dinh, Hanoi.
"Spring Market Night"
"Transition" (1)
The work "The Seed of the Ky Dai"
"Everyday Sounds"
Painting "On the street on a winter morning"
Visitors to the exhibition
