Over the past two years, artist Nguyen Thanh has painted more than 2,000 portraits of various sizes in realistic, expressive, and cubist styles. In Vietnam, he is the first and perhaps the only person to paint so many human faces. Each painting, each look, is unique.
Portrait 9
Portrait 25
30 portraits with different sizes, colors and expressions, displayed at the exhibition "Portraits" are the inner experiences and journey to find the "self" on the artistic path of young artist Nguyen Thanh.
The exhibition "Portraits" by artist Nguyen Thanh brings 30 portraits with different sizes, colors and expressions. Although the paintings do not reflect a specific face, they reveal slices of spiritual life in which each of us can more or less find ourselves.
Talking to Travellive, artist Nguyen Thanh said: "Over the past two years, I have painted more than 2,000 portraits and faces of different sizes, spanning many stories from beginning to end. Sometimes I arrange many paintings to paint at the same time, about 20 - 30 paintings. The 'Portraits' exhibition is considered the last part, displaying 30 paintings: 13 large paintings, 17 small paintings. These paintings belong to the behavioral art school, very free, without a framework for arrangement. When looking at the paintings, each person will have different emotions, when happy, they will look at life, when sad or in a mood, they will feel like they are in it, not fixed. Each individual feels differently because our moods always change at each time. Like during the Covid period, my paintings have a dark color ratio of up to 95%, but with this exhibition, it is after Covid with brighter colors. I will put my emotions into the paintings accordingly."
Painter Nguyen Thanh
Artist Nguyen Thanh's works are reminiscent of the Gestaltism school of painting, initiated by Willem De Kooning and praised by Georg Baselitz as an absolute freedom in artistic expression. "Previously, I worked with many different materials such as sculpture, lacquer, paper paintings... but did not have enough space to convey what I wanted. With 'Portraits' created in both 2022 and 2023. If you look at the entire series from the beginning, you will understand why I painted at this stage. The exhibition is just a small part of my series of paintings. The material I created is Acrylic", said artist Nguyen Thanh.
Many tourists came to visit the exhibition.
Painter Nguyen Thanh has quickly become famous in the Vietnamese art scene for pursuing the behavioral painting school. The male artist breathes life into portraits that are full of his personal mark. The exhibition "Portraits" is a special mark in his painting career as the works have been painstakingly created over the past two years.
The works exude freedom through delicate, sharp strokes, combined with eye-catching colors. All contribute to highlighting the intense artistic emotions and great enthusiasm that the author has devoted to this exhibition.
Over the past two years, artist Nguyen Thanh has painted more than 2,000 portraits and faces of different sizes in realistic, expressive, cubist...
Critic Bui Quang Thang commented: “A behaviorist painting is often understood as an unconscious reflection of the artist. They do not paint a specific face because they do not draw from any model, but still reveal certain personalities, even the face and spirit of someone in human life. Therefore, in hundreds, thousands of portraits, viewers will feel that portrait A, B or C... will have the image and personality of the mind and cultural capital that the audience has accumulated."
The works are named after their serial numbers in the portrait series of painter Nguyen Thanh.
In another aspect, Gestural Painting is similar in spirit to Action Painting, except that it is not abstract. The artists value the random, unconscious nature of creation and consider the process of painting as important as the result.
Painter Nguyen Thanh (born in 1979) graduated from the intermediate level of Lacquer Painting at the University of Industrial Fine Arts (2002). He is currently a member of the Young Painters Club of the Fine Arts Association and also a member of the Vietnam Fine Arts Association.
Exhibition space
Nguyen Thanh has participated in many domestic group exhibitions such as the Young Artists Exhibition (2002), the National Fine Arts Exhibition of Contemporary Vietnamese Paintings (2003), the Asian Art Awards Exhibition (2004), the New Generation Exhibition (2008), the Young Artists Group Exhibition at the Vietnam National Institute of Culture and Arts (VICAS) (2018), the Young Artists Exchange Group Exhibition in Korea (2018), the Soul and Soul Group Exhibition at VICAS (2019).
His solo exhibitions include The mask at VICAS (2018), The Tribe at Fergie Club (2022) and Portraits at Mo Art Space (2023).
The exhibition "Portraits" takes place from March 14 to April 9, 2023 at Mo Art Space, 136 Hang Trong, Hoan Kiem, Hanoi.
