Artist Đinh Công Đạt (left) and his long-time peer, Irish painter Rodney Dickson.

HÀ NỘI — Proof that friendship can speak louder than words, celebrated Vietnamese contemporary artist Đinh Công Đạt and his long-time peer, Irish painter Rodney Dickson, have come together for a joint exhibition in Hà Nội, bringing decades of quiet artistic dialogue into a shared space.

Entitled Two Friends, the exhibition marks a rare encounter between two artists from different cultural and geographical backgrounds. What unites them is not a shared language or similar life experiences but a profound sense of mutual understanding that has grown over the past 25 years.

Through 18 paintings and sculptures, the exhibition invites visitors into a space of quiet contemplation. Neither artist seeks to tell a story or offer explanation. Instead, their works deliberately step away from narrative and symbolism. What they present is a condition of stillness, a chance for reflection, attentive looking and the gradual surfacing of sensations.

An exhibition-goer carefully observes a sculpture created by Đinh Công Đạt.

Placed side by side, Dickson’s paintings and Đạt’s sculptures each retain their own rhythm and internal logic. Dickson’s canvases, dark and subdued, draw the viewer inward, while Đạt’s sculptural forms are reduced to elemental structures. Together, they create an atmosphere that feels meditative, spiritual and even transcendent, not through fixed meanings but through experiences that unfold over time.

The exhibition also signals a notable shift in scale and practice for both artists. Dickson, a New York-based painter widely recognised for large canvases with expansive colour fields and dense textures, now presents smaller, more intimate works. Đạt, long associated with ornate and vivid sculptures rooted in traditional aesthetics, introduces larger, more restrained structures.

By stepping away from their familiar signatures, both artists move towards a shared sensibility that is quiet, meditative and inward-looking. This reflects their belief in art as an experience rather than a message. Two Friends does not prescribe meaning. Instead, it allows calm, serenity and even transcendence to arise naturally within the exhibition space.

The exhibition‘Two Friends’ showcases 18 paintings and sculptures by Vietnamese artist Đinh Công Đạt and his friend, Irish painter Rodney Dickson. — Photos courtesy of the artist

Dickson, who has maintained close ties with Việt Nam since the early 2000s, views his art as a spiritual journey, exploring the vast beauty of the universe through expressive brushstrokes. His works have been exhibited at prestigious galleries across the United States, Europe and Asia.

Born in Hà Nội in 1966, Đinh Công Đạt graduated from the Hà Nội University of Fine Arts with a major in sculpture. He is a well-established figure in Vietnamese contemporary art, with an extensive exhibition record both at home and abroad. His practice spans sculpture, installation and spatial design, and his works are held in numerous private collections worldwide.

Two Friends is open to the public until February 13 at Somerset West Point, 2 Tây Hồ Street, Quảng An, Hà Nội. Following its Hà Nội showing, the exhibition will travel to Hồ Chí Minh City in September. — VNS