Watercolour paintings by Nguyễn Thu Hà. Photos cand.com.vn

HÀ NỘI — Watercolours flowed freely as artists painted live at the opening of the exhibition Watercolour Stories – Việt Nam Watercolour Artists in Hà Nội, setting the tone for a show that pushes the medium beyond its traditional boundaries.

The exhibition brings together nine artists, including the sole female participant, Nguyễn Thu Hà. From diverse artistic journeys, backgrounds and creative concerns, they converge through a shared passion for watercolour and a sustained commitment to artistic exploration.

Featuring more than 100 works, the exhibition spans a wide range of subjects, from landscapes, urban scenes and still lifes to boats, seascapes, portraits, abstract compositions and introspective expressions influenced by expressionism and surrealism.

Collectively, the works challenge the notion of watercolour as a medium limited to gentle or decorative imagery.

Watercolour is a free-flowing medium that requires artists to work quickly and decisively while maintaining technical discipline, according to Lương Xuân Đoàn, Chairman of the Việt Nam Association of Fine Arts.

“Notably, the appearance of watercolour on wood at the exhibition reflects new technical experimentation,” said Đoàn. “The artists adopt a dry-painting approach, opening up a different aesthetic space that is both innovative and highly significant.”

“The balance between speed, emotion and control creates the distinctive beauty of watercolour paintings exploring natural themes.

“In watercolour, tonal values and water ratios are often pre-formed in the artist’s emotional perception. The flow of colour moves continuously rather than through layered build-up as in oil-on-canvas painting, making a unique visual effect.”

At the exhibition opening, visitors have chance to view a process of making watercolour painting.

The paintings on display demonstrate that watercolour is fully capable of conveying complex spatial structures as well as nuanced psychological and emotional content.

Each artist approaches the medium from a distinct professional perspective, contributing to the exhibition’s overall diversity. At the same time, each painting stands as an independent voice, forming a multi-layered dialogue between the artist, the medium and the viewer.

Visitors encounter translucent layers of colour, spontaneous washes, moments of quiet restraint and contemplative expressions reflected in human faces. Through the hands of each artist, watercolour moves beyond technique to become a means of capturing rhythms of life, memory and emotion.

Among the works by male colleagues, Hà’s paintings bring psychological depth through a series of watercolour portraits. For her, each face serves as a mirror of the inner self. Her empathetic, dialogic approach allows the portraits to resonate with lived experiences and reveal subtle emotional layers.

The diversity of styles and approaches lends vitality to the exhibition. Watercolour Stories does not impose a single artistic manifesto. Instead, it respects individual creative identities while affirming the adaptability and expressive strength of watercolour within today’s contemporary art context.

The exhibition runs until February 1 at 42 Yết Kiêu Street, with a series of activities offering the public multiple entry points into the medium. A workshop will take place at 9 am on January 31, focusing on the transformative nature of watercolour and providing opportunities for direct engagement, exchange and hands-on experience with the artists. — VNS