Artwork on display at the Gallery Memories+84 is the fruitful result of five artists' two‑month residency in Đà Lạt. Photos courtesy of Phan Lê Huy Vương

LÂM ĐỒNG — A two‑month residency in Đà Lạt brought together five painters whose collective journey has now taken shape in an exhibition titled Giấc Mộng Hồng Hoàng (The Dream about the Iconic Hồng Hoàng Bird).

Opening on Saturday at Gallery Memories+84 in the Central Highlands city, the show features 43 works created by Trần Thế Vĩnh, Nguyễn An, Trương Thế Linh, Nguyễn Đăng Chân and Trần Kiến Quốc.

The residency was designed as an immersive journey. Over two months, the artists meditated in a monastery, met local communities, walked in the forest and explored histories of coexistence. These experiences were not about collecting information but about gathering emotions, the elements that give depth to their practice.

Visitors engage with a vibrant painting at Gallery Memories+84 in Đà Lạt.

Material choices became a defining aspect of the project. Living and working together, the artists shaped their approaches to medium, surface and the transformation of feeling into image.

In the studio, they worked not only with paint but also soil, charcoal, plant traces and other natural substances. These materials carried the marks of time and environment, as if fragments of the forest and earth were transferred directly into the paintings.

Each artist developed a distinct voice. Nguyễn An used charcoal, soil and layers of colour as memories of fire and forest. Trương Thế Linh explored inner depth through surfaces resembling geological strata. Trần Thế Vĩnh focused on the flow of colour and emotional energy. Trần Kiến Quốc drew inspiration from natural structures, while Nguyễn Đăng Chân employed oil paint and light to capture raw visual moments.

A visitor contemplates a painting at the exhibition.

Although their approaches differed, together the works form a shared current – a multidimensional dialogue about Đà Lạt, where memories of nature, reflections on environmental change and meditations on humanity converge.

Explaining the exhibition title, Memories+84 Gallery representative Nguyễn Cao Cường said: “The project Giấc Mộng Hồng Hoàng extends beyond artistic creation, aiming also to explore and evoke the cultural values of Đà Lạt and the Central Highlands.

"The name ‘Hồng hoàng’ – known locally as the Sềm Kring bird – was chosen as a cultural symbol tied to the ancient forest and the spiritual life of indigenous communities. Through this choice, the project opens a pathway for the public to engage with Central Highlands culture via art.”

Guests and artists exchange ideas at the exhibition opening.

Cường added that while Đà Lạt has been recognised by UNESCO as a City of Music, it has the potential to grow into a diverse city of the arts.

With this vision, the gallery seeks to connect resources to build cultural spaces where artists can create and interact over the long term. Since its establishment 12 years ago, Memories+84 has organised numerous residencies for dozens of artists.

The opening unfolded as an emotional experience. Near Trần Thế Vĩnh’s painting Lời Ru (The Lullaby), the song Đếh Kô filled the gallery with its raw, slow and poignant melody. Telling of a sorrowful farewell, the music became part of the encounter, inviting viewers to feel the works more through emotion than reason.

Artisan K’Mơ from Langbiang Village recounts the story of the Sềm Kring bird at the opening of the exhibition ‘Giấc Mộng Hồng Hoàng’.

In another corner, the story of the Sềm Kring bird – once a sacred presence of the old forest and tied to the spiritual life of local communities – was recalled as cultural memory.

Traditionally seen as a sign of good fortune, the bird has now grown scarce. Within the artistic space, its story evokes not only ecological loss, but also the fading of cultural values at risk of disappearing from modern life.

The exhibition runs until May 31. — VNS