"Northwest Colors" - When shapes tell stories of identity
Not a painter, nor aspiring to become one, designer Pham Huyen Kieu came to painting as someone quietly searching for answers for himself – from his passion for wandering the Northwest, to his passion for shapes, colors and materials. “Northwest Colors” is the result of more than 10 years of his research and experimentation: when lacquer meets design, when geometrical shapes meet national color palettes, when identity thinking is told in a lively, individual and Vietnamese language in contemporary life.
"Northwest Color" is the result of more than 10 years of research and experimentation by designer Pham Huyen Kieu using wooden lacquer material.
In this series of paintings, Pham Huyen Kieu finds a new format, a new size, a new visual rhythm to convey personal emotions. The geometric language with circles, squares, triangles, diagonals, and cubic blocks - seemingly dry and rational, under the designer's hands becomes rich in expression to tell stories about each land and people of the Northwest. All are "breathed into life" by lacquer material, which is closely associated with the cultural depth and traditional handicrafts of Vietnam.
Not only a personal expression, “Northwest Colors” is also an experiment to expand the basic graphic language and indigenous color palette to become the foundation for contemporary, minimalist design applications. From images of the Northwest mountains and forests to ethnic tones, from traditional lacquer materials to basic geometric language, he has transformed indigenous values into a contemporary aesthetic system: minimalist but rich in rhythm, abstract but still deeply reminiscent of the origin.
The work "Under the canopy of Hoang Lien forest"
Geometric language with circles, squares, triangles, diagonals, and cubic blocks - seemingly dry and rational, under the designer's hands, becomes rich in expression to tell the story of the land and people of the Northwest.
Talking to Travellive, designer Pham Huyen Kieu said: "Love for the mountains and forests of the Northwest comes very naturally - no matter who you are, where you come from, just one visit and you will easily be enchanted by the clean air, slow pace of life and pristine beauty. For me, the Northwest has become as familiar as breathing, because of the passion for backpacking trips that has existed for more than 30 years. Therefore, I want to tell my own Northwest in visual language, through graphic elements that seem dry like the lessons from my design student days to return to 'basic graphics' - a way to untangle emotions, relieve stress after a series of days working as a brand design consultant".
Designer Pham Huyen Kieu
Graduated from the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, majoring in Graphics, Pham Huyen Kieu belongs to the pioneering generation in the field of design in Vietnam in the post-renovation period. Although he was a "child of a fine arts family" and was exposed to fine arts at a very early age, he clearly determined his own path since his high school years: graphic design - a new field in Vietnam at that time. Since then, he has been persistent in finding ways to connect design thinking with indigenous values, helping to build a professional visual foundation imbued with the Vietnamese spirit.
A different look at the Northwest – through design and art
He added: “Each work has a clear subject, but when placed before the viewer’s eyes, the feeling opens up like a dialogue. The elements in the painting can be like a pair of antithetical sentences – both opposing and complementing each other in space. I believe that visual art is not just for looking at, but for living, so that people feel guided, connected and self-reflecting through seemingly wordless lines and shades.”
The highlight of “Northwest Colors” is also the choice of lacquer material, which is famous in Vietnam for its shimmer, depth and characteristic natural yellow color. According to the designer, this is a “beautiful but difficult” material: mixing colors on lacquer is more complicated than many other materials, but when it reaches a certain level of smoothness, it brings an aesthetic and abstract visual effect. For him, paintings are not only for viewing but also have application in living and working spaces to help nourish the soul, creating a unique emotion for the viewer.
Space at the launch of "Northwest Colors"
The dialogue between design and painting
"Northwest Colors" is a journey of visual contemplation, culture and Vietnamese lifestyle through a basic graphic lens. Each painting is a deliberate choice: between identity and minimalism, between emotion and structure, between culture and life.
Unlike traditional painting which tends to be descriptive, Pham Huyen Kieu's approach to color is full of visual personality. Instead of depicting reality, he chooses to condense ethnic tones and combine them with modern sensibilities to create a sensual, rhythmic color palette.
Tourists come to "enjoy" the paintings
Dialogue between modernity and Vietnamese identity
With over three decades of experience in the design, branding and art industry, Pham Huyen Kieu is the founder of modern visual thinking in Vietnam. He is the founder of Arts Journey, editor-in-chief of Locals Visual Arts magazine, co-founder of Design Alliance Asia, and currently the Strategic Consulting Director at Experts in Action. In 2013, he and his colleagues from 13 countries of the Design Alliance Asia implemented the project Colours of Asia, which was awarded the Design for Asia Award (DFA) in Hong Kong.
“Northwest Colors” is open to the public from June 26 to July 7, 2025 at the B&C Maison d'Art art space, 82G Tho Nhuom, Hanoi. This is an invitation to come and see, to listen and perhaps find a new understanding of the Northwest: not through words, but through shapes and shades. A memory, a lifestyle, an inspiration for “Vietnamese quality” in contemporary life.
Night. Rain and wind
"Tuyen Quang Mid-Autumn Festival Night"
Dai Yem Waterfall
