9X guy Nam Chi is passionate about folk art

Young artist Nam Chi is passionate about traditional folk paintings.

Love traditional paintings

No one in his family is an artist, but artist Nam Chi has been interested in painting since he was young. When he was in primary school, when he was exposed to the painting “Quan Am” in the textbook, he was fascinated and passionate about this folk painting genre. Later, when he studied at the University of Industrial Fine Arts, he was exposed to more, so he decided to pursue folk painting. He is currently studying in depth two folk painting genres: Hang Trong and Kim Hoang. In addition, he is also learning more about the technique of making royal decree paper.

Artist Nam Chi also learned more about the technique of making royal decree paper.

The more Nam Chi learns and researches, the more he realizes the unique values ​​of Vietnamese art. He feels the beauty of this genre of paintings not only in the lines and colors but also in the meaning that our ancestors have entrusted. That is the philosophy of life, the satire, the teachings and the lessons passed on to the next generation. For example, the painting "peacock, carp" represents fertility, prosperity, warmth and happiness. Or the Kim Hoang painting genre has the painting "pair of divine chickens" associated with poems describing the beauty of a chicken with its head held high, body like a phoenix, big tail, and heroic posture, which when crowing can drive away evil spirits. And the painting "to nu" shows the beauty of Vietnamese women with their sitting posture, way of playing the instrument, rich costumes...

Nam Chi performs the technique of mixing ink colors to print lines for paintings.

The arduous journey of pursuing passion

When pursuing this folk art stream, the young artist encountered many difficulties. Because he himself was not a "child of the family", did not come from a craft village to know the process of creating a painting. The characteristic of traditional painting is that it is a profession passed down from father to son, so he encountered difficulties in gathering knowledge and putting it into practice. He took the time to go on field trips to artisans' homes to learn and study traditional painting techniques.

Nam Chi performs line printing technique for paintings

In Vietnam, the material for this type of painting is Do paper. At first, because he could not find a source of Do paper, he tried painting on fine art paper but it did not meet his expectations.

Nam Chi with Hang Trong folk painting artist Le Dinh Nghien

“Many people often use dyes but they are not very durable, they only last a few years before fading. I researched and decided to choose natural colors like the old artisans did. Mineral colors take time and technique to make, but when ground to the right consistency, the colors are bright and durable,” Nam Chi said.

The next difficulty in working for a 9X guy is the source of consumption of paintings to have the economy to pursue this art. When there was no output for the paintings, to have money to cover expenses, he had to do other jobs. In the morning he went to school, in the afternoon he went to work, in the evening he came back to work hard to paint. When he had a work, he took pictures, explained the meaning of each painting and posted it on social networks, and people liked and supported him, so he had a certain number of potential customers. These challenges made Nam Chi more determined in his choice.

The painting "Unicorn sending off child" by young artist

Nam Chi has been in the profession for 8 years now, he can’t remember exactly how many paintings he has painted. Among them, there are paintings based on traditional models, paintings based on customers’ ideas, but also paintings based on his own creativity.

The Guanyin painting with gilded motifs is an impressive painting by Nam Chi.

The most impressive thing in his career is the 60 x 120 cm Quan Am painting. With the high demands of customers, he had to research from the beginning about the patterns and architecture of communal houses in each period to be able to apply them to the product. That Quan Am painting was painted with the style, costumes, patterns, and colors completely of the Vietnamese people. In particular, the painting used gold-plating and gold-crushing techniques to draw the patterns.

Creative but not unconventional

As a young artist, when pursuing folk paintings, Nam Chi has variations and creativity but still relies on the core of traditional folk paintings that our ancestors left behind, not breaking the mold. “Because deep inside each painting are layers and meanings that not only carry artistic value but also historical value of the nation. Therefore, I always want to preserve the identity, beauty, and the soul that makes up the Vietnamese people,” said Nam Chi.

Application of folk paintings on paper fans

With his efforts, Nam Chi has launched many new paintings that inherit from traditional paintings but also combine graphic techniques. These paintings not only simply use the patterns of Hang Trong paintings such as swirl patterns and longevity characters, but Nam Chi also researched historical documents on costumes of the Le and Nguyen dynasties and incorporated them into the work to bring higher artistic value to the paintings.

Up to now, Nam Chi has had initial success when his paintings have been selected for display by many museums such as Hai Duong Museum, Hue Museum, Da Nang Museum... At Hai Duong Museum, Nam Chi has had many paintings of both Hang Trong and Kim Hoang displayed.

An experience session about folk paintings at Hanoi Museum attracted many children.

According to the male artist, in order for folk paintings to reach more young people, it is necessary to not only promote them on social networks but also apply the motifs to handicraft products such as lamps, fans, cake boxes, etc.

Deputy Director of Hai Duong Provincial Museum Do Dinh Quyet commented: In Nam Chi's paintings, we can clearly see the ingenuity and talent in using materials and colors in the visual arts, which helps us feel "both ancient and modern", that is, both nostalgic and modern. Over the years, Nam Chi has donated to Hai Duong Provincial Museum 13 sets of artifacts including more than 30 paintings with many different themes. These are meaningful paintings of a young artist. In the midst of modern life, the precious thing is to preserve and develop the folk paintings that young artist Nam Chi has been doing.

LINH LINH

Source: https://baohaiduong.vn/chang-trai-9x-nam-chi-say-me-my-thuat-dan-gian-390998.html