Female artist Bích Thảo is pictured at the opening ceremony of the exhibition. — Photo courtesy of Area 75 – Art & Auction

HÀ NỘI — A world of memory, emotion and Vietnamese cultural imagery comes to life in a new exhibition by artist Bích Thảo, opening at Area 75 – Art & Auction and inviting visitors on a journey through the landscapes of personal and collective remembrance.

Through colour and material, each work becomes a cultural vignette, infused with a love for the homeland and memories emerging from the depths of the subconscious.

The painter's first solo exhibition, Ký Ức Nằm Dưới Lớp Màu (Memories Beneath the Layers of Colour), presented under her artistic name Tuyết Sơn Tùng, features works shaped by her emotions and experiences on a journey back through memory, culture and the beauty of everyday Vietnamese life.

In her paintings, Thảo often employs warm, resonant tones, vermilion red, ochre, burnt orange and deep brown, interwoven with passages of rich black and glints of gold. Colour is used not merely to depict reality but to convey emotion, memory and the rhythms of inner life.

Each painting resembles a layer of cultural sediment, where scenes of village life, fish markets, boat landings, old town rooftops, women, musical strains, horses, flocks of birds and animals from folk life unfold within a space that is both real and dreamlike.

Figures in her paintings are often rendered with simplified lines, their faces imbued with a quiet stillness that is at times innocent and at others contemplative. Dense compositions, contrasting blocks of colour and richly textured surfaces create a sense of continuous movement, as though each work is telling its own story of people and life.

Painting entitled Tình Xuân Quan Họ (Spring Love Duet) by artist Bích Thảo.

Thảo said she was drawn to painting from an early age and studied at the Hải Phòng Children’s Palace. Those early lessons, together with art awards she received in her youth, helped nurture her enduring passion for the arts.

“I am particularly drawn to painting people and landscapes, as I wish to preserve the genuine, gentle and deeply intimate emotions within each moment,” she said.

According to Thảo, every work in the exhibition is distilled from lived experience and a profound love for the Vietnamese homeland, its people and its culture. She hopes her paintings offer viewers a sense of warmth and calm, as well as an opportunity for quiet reflection amid the pace of contemporary life.

As Thảo’s mentor, artist Trần Anh Tuấn said she is a distinctive example of someone who came to art through self-study and an intense passion for creativity. Rather than formal training at an art academy, this unconventional path has, in his view, helped shape a personal artistic language rich in emotion and instinctive creativity.

Visitors view artworks at the exhibition. — Photo courtesy of Area 75 – Art & Auction

Meanwhile, lacquer artisan Vũ Huy Mến said Thảo had left a strong impression on him through her passion for Vietnamese lacquer art.

“Her love for lacquer, her creative ability and her determination have enabled Thảo to produce works with a distinct personal mark and significant potential for further development,” he said.

Memories Beneath the Layers of Colour runs until June 21. — VNS