FESTIVE: New Year by Hồ Gươm by Văn Dương Thành.

The exhibition entitled Memories of Childhood is among a series of activities to be held on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Việt Nam and Italy next year.

Six new paintings by Thành feature beautiful scenes of the sea in Italy, including Blue Sea Mountain and Naples Sea in The Morning.

“I’m very honoured to be invited to have the exhibition in Italy,” said artist Thành.

“Moreover, on this occasion, I painted new works to present to the Italian president. This is my pleasure because Italy is a cradle of fine arts.”

Memories of Childhood features works that show off the artist's techniques honed over a 50-year career.

“Thành is a prominent artist of Việt Nam,” said Dương Hải Hưng, Vietnamesee ambassador to Italy. “Her paintings in this exquisite collection reflect her fond memories and images of a hard childhood living in a small town in Việt Nam during the war.”

Through dozens of carefully selected works at the exhibition, visitors have a chance to admire and experience for themselves the artist's emotions and discover new perspectives.

The paintings are made with a skillful combination of colours, showing the artist’s difficult childhood but containing aspirations for a peaceful future.

Painting, like music, does not need language, but it is the most effective bridge to connect the souls and hearts of the people of Việt Nam and Italy, according to ambassador Hưng.

“This exhibition is within the framework of cultural diplomacy activities implemented by the Vietnamese Embassy in Italy on the eve of the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries to further strengthen the friendship and good relations between peoples of our two countries.”

Thành grew up in Hà Nội and studied for 12 years at Việt Nam Fine Arts University. Her works were first collected by the Việt Nam Fine Arts Museum when she was 20 years old.

Since then many of her works have been collected by museums in India, China, Singapore, Spain and Sweden. Her paintings have also been collected by international art collectors.

She was the first Vietnamese selected into the International Excellence of Arts of CFM - Snecma, USA – France.

Memories of Childhoods runs until July 22 at Consulate of Việt Nam in Naples. — VNS