Hà Nguyễn

HÀ NỘI — An exhibition entitled “Hành Trình Đi…” (A Journey...) by painter Nguyễn Thị Thúy Hường will kick off on December 23 at Hà Nội’s 45 Tràng Tiền Street, Hoàn Kiếm District.

Hường’s 40-painting collection depicts stories of lotus flowers in different places and landscapes, presenting viewers with unforgettable feelings.

Painter Thúy Hường with one of her favourite lotus flowers artworks. Photos by Hà Nguyễn

The paintings include Sen Bên Dòng Hương Giang (Lotus by the Hương Giang River), Sen Bên Dòng Sông Thames (Lotus along Thames River), Học Từ Sen (Learning from Lotus) and Ru Sen (Lulling Lotus).

Apart from using oil paints, this time, Hường also introduces to art lovers works depicting banana and bamboo trees with traditional lacquer paints, such as in her Tre Việt (Vietnamese Bamboo).

“These trees are so popular to Vietnamese because they are available at every corner of the country’s rural areas from Móng Cái in the north running through the central region to Cà Mau Province in the south.

Học Từ Sen depicts a story about a beautiful girl learning among lotus flowers.

“Banana is a nutritional fruit that is very good for health while the bamboo tree is a symbol of Vietnamese resilience, resistance and indomitableness. The tree is believed to bring good luck, good health, love and prosperity to people,” Hường said.

Painter Trần Vũ Hoàng said that he liked Hường’s artworks, particularly for their simplicity and the way they show the inner essence and beauty of the humble lotus flower.

“She has been working so hard to find her own style. Her efforts have paid off, and she has composed many paintings of lotus flowers with colours that are distinctive and so have won high praise from both the public and art lovers,” he said.

Ngọc Sơn Tỏa ( Ngọc Sơn Temple in Hà Nội shines ) has won interest from many art lovers.

Hoàng said each of Hường's work told of a story or image relating to the memory of the Vietnamese. “I like her collection, particularly the work titled President Hồ's Sen Village Early in the Morning, which shows the painter’s dedicated folk painting style that helps viewers feel relaxed during these busy times of social networks.”

Meanwhile, painter Trường Linh, a lecturer at the Hà Nội College of Fine Arts, also spoke highly of her work: “Hường has always tried her best to create and discover fine arts. Her oils and watercolours are full of creativity, and the gamut of vibrant colours in her works are so bright, as if they are somehow expressing a better future, one of hopefulness.”

Though Hường also painted portraits, countryside landscapes, and those that capture the mysterious beauty of Vietnamese women, during the last three years she has been consumed with lotus flowers, investing all of her time and passion, perhaps her very soul, into creating these scintillating works.

“There are other paintings, but I found that I love flowers, particularly lotuses, so much. They bring a strong inspiration for me to paint,” Hường said.

Lotus flowers are a symbol of nobility and have long had a deep connection with Vietnamese culture. Legend has it that when King Lý Thái Tông (1028-1054) had a dream of lotus flowers, soon after the One-Pillar Pagoda, a grand religious site in the capital, was built surrounded by a lotus pond.

Trần Lệ Khanh, a painting collector, said Hường’s paintings brought viewers gentle and peaceful sensations. "Her brushstrokes are of a free spirit without a certain model."

Bamboo trees are very popular to Vietnamese. The tree is believed to bring good luck, good health, love and prosperity to people.

“We’ve been working together as teachers at a secondary school, so I’m lucky to have opportunities to enjoy Hường’s paintings. I like her works so much, particularly her paintings of lotus and a paddy terrace on the Khau Phạ Pass (of the northwestern province of Yên Bái),” Khanh said, adding that she was interested in these works because they reflect prosperous and thriving lives of local people while bringing viewers a pride of the country’s majestic and beautiful mountain landscapes.

She told Việt Nam News that the work entitled Sen Bên Chùa Một Cột (Lotus Flowers by One-Pillar Pagoda) brought her a feeling of calm.

Speaking about painter Hường’s upcoming exhibition, Khanh said it was a big collection mainly with lotus flowers painted in different places, scenes and spaces that would leave viewers with a sense of the flowers’ purity and nobility.

“Although being planted and grown from mud, lotus flowers develop very well so as to show off their beauty and spread their fragrance. In addition, the lotus flower is still a symbol of luck and wise wisdom so many art lovers have chosen lotus paintings to decorate their homes,” said Khanh.

The 10-day exhibition will run until January 2. VNS