Portrait of Bảo Trân by Vietnamese artist Chu Tiến Thăng.

HÀ NỘI — Surpassing over 2,200 images, Portrait of Bảo Trân by Vietnamese artist Chu Tiến Thăng has won first prize in the Drawing category at the Portrait Society of America Awards.

The achievement makes him the first Vietnamese artist to enter the Top 20 and secure a top prize in a major category in the competition’s history.

Portrait of Bảo Trân, measuring 16 inches by 12.5 inches and executed in mixed media on panel, depicts Bảo Trân – also known as Chíp, a young private student of Thăng – seated in a quiet, introspective pose.

“The work is not merely a portrait, but also an attempt to capture the subject’s fragility, inner world, and deeply personal emotions,” Thăng told Việt Nam News.

“For me, this award is, first and foremost, a recognition of my serious working process and the path I’ve been pursuing in realist portraiture.

“At the same time, it has made me more aware of my responsibility to further develop my own artistic voice.”

Thăng, forth from left, is pictured with other finalists of the competition. —Photo courtesy of the artist

Thăng, born in 1999, is currently based in Hà Nội. He graduated from the Vietnam University of Fine Arts in 2022 with a degree in Art Education. Trained in a formal fine arts education environment, he does not confine himself to traditional rules, but continually seeks to transform the language of painting in a flexible and dynamic way. He has emerged as a young prominent artist, recognised for his diverse artistic practice and his thoughtful, in-depth engagement with materials.

Established in 1998, the Portrait Society of America is an educational organisation dedicated to promoting fine art portraiture and figurative works through publications and programmes.

The 28th Annual International Portrait Competition of the Society attracted more than 2,200 entries across all categories, selecting only 19 finalists. After eight rounds of evaluation and one round of in-person judging, Chu Tiến Thăng’s Portrait of Bảo Trân was awarded First Prize in the Drawing category, affirming the talent of a Vietnamese artist on the international art scene. VNS