Artist finds beauty within

Lady in red: One of Nguyen Van Cuong's paintings on display at the exhibition. — File Photos

HA NOI (VNS)— The artist Nguyen Van Cuong looks to reveal the nuances behind painted faces in his exhibition The Make-up Faces which opened in Ha Noi on Monday.

The exhibition consists of 22 of the art teacher's lacquer paintings which are inspired by prostitutes wearing heavy make-up at sex shows in the red light districts of Thailand and Europe.

"Images of women standing in glass-cases inviting guests haunted me," Cuong said, "they changed themselves with a particular purpose and through this they easily lost their natural beauty and became another person."

"The reason for me painting these made-up faces has shocked visitors, but my artwork only focuses on the faces," Cuong said.

As part of his research, Cuong has scanned the faces of many beautiful girls on magazine covers in Viet Nam to analyse the social construct of outside beauty. Through his paintings, he wants to question this idea of beauty and the potential beauty hiding underneath the make up and accessories.

"Being an art teacher, Cuong owns a good technique to express his ideas, but he paints in moderation," said painter Le Thiet Cuong, "I have told him that I want him to be more liberal and even unrestrained. In this exhibition, for the first time he has realised this change."

Cuong was born in 1976 in the northern province of Bac Giang. He has had his work exhibited in many countries including South Korea, Japan, the Philippines, Malaysia and the UK.

The exhibition will run until next Monday at the Viet Nam Fine Arts Museum, 66 Nguyen Thai Hoc Street, Ha Noi. — VNS