A corner of Mừng Đảng, Mừng Xuân Bính Ngọ 2026 (Celebrating the Party, Celebrating the Spring – Year of the Horse 2026) exhibition. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Thanh

HÀ NỘI — As spring light washes over the capital, colour and canvas come into bloom at the Fine Arts Exhibition House on Ngô Quyền Street, where artworks celebrating the beauty of Việt Nam’s landscapes in spring are now on display.

The exhibition is an annual event organised by the Việt Nam Fine Arts Association at the start of each lunar new year.

Titled Mừng Đảng, Mừng Xuân Bính Ngọ 2026 (Celebrating the Party, Celebrating the Spring – Year of the Horse 2026), the exhibition brings together numerous association members from Hà Nội and other localities nationwide. It features 170 works by 160 artists, presented across a range of media including oil, lacquer, acrylic, mixed media and ceramics.

According to Mai Thị Ngọc Oanh, Standing Vice President of the association, the number and quality of works on display demonstrate members’ strong engagement and positive response to professional activities. They also reflect nearly 70 years of continuous development in Vietnamese fine arts, with increasingly prominent participation from younger artists.

This year’s exhibition space is marked by a rich variety of subjects and diverse expressive styles. The theme of spring is explored in depth through abstract, expressionist and realist approaches, creating a vivid and emotionally resonant overall picture.

In the landscape section, many works portray the unhurried rhythms of daily life and the beauty of Việt Nam’s countryside, including pieces such as Bên Dòng Sông Nho Quế (By the Nho Quế River), Xuân Về Với Bản Làng (Spring Returns to the Village) and Đình Làng Ước Lễ (Ước Lễ Village Communal House).

Portraits and landscape paintings also convey ethnic cultural elements, often depicting women from ethnic minority communities beside embroidery frames or wearing traditional dress against quiet backdrops. The works emphasise the beauty of handicrafts, communal life and traditional values preserved across generations.

A visitor views artworks at the exhibition. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Thanh

The theme of spring is also explored by many artists in works such as Bạch Mã (White Steed), Song Mã (Twin Horses) and Ngựa Thần Đã Đến (The Divine Horse Has Arrived). These pieces employ bold blocks of form and decisive lines that emphasise sculptural structure and rhythmic movement, highlighting the spirit of new beginnings, vitality and hope for the year ahead.

One of the participating painters, Lý Thu Hà, presents Đón Xuân Bính Ngọ (Welcoming the Spring of the Year of the Horse), inspired by the Year of the Horse and her love of quan họ love duet folk songs. An impression left by young female folk singers during a field trip prompted her to incorporate the horse motif as a symbol of cultural inheritance and the transmission of traditional values. The painting expresses hopes for an abundant and prosperous new year and conveys faith in the vitality of the nation’s cultural heritage.

Veteran painter Phạm Phi Châu brings Mèo Vạc Đón Xuân (Mèo Vạc Welcomes Spring) to the exhibition, depicting highland community life in the days leading up to Tết. The painting sketches the busy rhythms of people embroidering, sewing and preparing new garments, creating a festive atmosphere at the country’s northern edge.

The artist said the mountainous commune in the northern province of Tuyên Quang seemed to don a new robe each spring, as nature undergoes a remarkable transformation that makes the once barren karst landscape burst into life. To him, Mèo Vạc is not merely a place or destination but an enduring source of inspiration for his artistic practice.

According to him, the works on display are rich in subject matter and fresh in style. Whereas in the past many artists participated with a more freewheeling and recreational spirit, this year shows a clear commitment to meticulous technique and a serious professional attitude. Each artist has chosen to present their most accomplished pieces, contributing to a vibrant and multifaceted exhibition.

Mừng Đảng, Mừng Xuân Bính Ngọ 2026 will remain open until February 28. — VNS

The exhibition is an annual event of the Việt Nam Fine Arts Association (VNFAA) at the start of each lunar new year. — VNA/VNS Photo Phương Thanh