Among the 11 official nominations of the 18th Bui Xuan Phai Award - For the Love of Hanoi in 2025, organized by the Sports and Culture Newspaper (Vietnam News Agency), the Outstanding Works Award category has 4 typical candidates including a series of lacquer paintings by young artist Chu Nhat Quang; a series of paintings "Xuong pho" by artist Pham Binh Chuong; the book " Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange" by Dr., architect Tran Quoc Bao and the musical "Fire from the Earth" by the Youth Theater.
Each nomination has a different "voice", but they all share a love for Hanoi, a love expressed through painting, literature, academic architecture and theater.
Young artist Chu Nhat Quang - lacquer connecting history and present
The series of exhibitions "Sacred Marks" (October 2024) and "Independence Spring" (August 2025) have made the name of Chu Nhat Quang, a 9X artist, a phenomenon of the capital's fine arts.
With large-scale, one-piece lacquer paintings, Chu Nhat Quang chose to directly face the challenges of traditional techniques, creating works that both have historical depth and evoke contemporary emotions.
Besides the major themes of cultural heritage and revolutionary war, Chu Nhat Quang's paintings also include many works expressing his love for Thang Long-Hanoi, where he was born and raised. Accordingly, in both exhibitions "Sacred Mark" and "Independence Spring," viewers can see familiar symbols of Thang Long-Hanoi such as Turtle Tower, Thang Long Imperial Citadel, One Pillar Pagoda, Temple of Literature, Thay Pagoda, Hanoi Flag Tower, Old Quarter, etc.
The images of Hanoi are very familiar, but through the lens of Chu Nhat Quang's lacquer paintings, they become new and full of emotion. Hanoi in his paintings is not realistic, but opens up a special "magnetic field", where memories and cultural sediments speak through shapes and colors, under the sparkling light of lacquer, in parallel with the contemporary beat.
Painter Chu Nhat Quang shared that in his series of lacquer works, he brings elements of simultaneous presence into the paintings, where space and time have no distance.
“I was born and raised in modern Hanoi, but I want to build a bridge connecting the present with the past. From there, through the eyes of a contemporary artist, I can dialogue with history and culture with my own emotions and artistic language,” artist Chu Nhat Quang shared.
For young artist Chu Nhat Quang, Hanoi is a rich land, rich in culture and history, of which he has only "touched" the surface of the most typical features. There are still many things he wants to continue to learn, explore more deeply and enrich his knowledge, to understand more fully the lifestyle, habits, customs and culture of Hanoians. It can be seen that Hanoi in Chu Nhat Quang's paintings is the coexistence of memory and present, a message about the responsibility of the young generation towards heritage.
Pham Binh Chuong and his Hanoi memoirs through paintings
If Chu Nhat Quang represents youth, artist Pham Binh Chuong brings the tranquility of a 20-year journey with Hanoi. The exhibition "Xuong Pho 4" at the end of 2024 is not only a summary of his 20-year journey of painting Hanoi, but also a "picture narrative" about the transformation of the capital over the past two decades.
Since the first exhibition "Xuong pho" in 2024 until now, artist Pham Binh Chuong has almost created a "name" that is firmly attached to the theme of Hanoi. The beauty of Hanoi through every street corner is painted by artist Pham Binh Chuong with real experiences, emotions, and perspectives, completely originating from the reality of Hanoi. Behind the strokes and colors, are cultural stories and changes in the times that only those with a deep love for Hanoi can see...
Painter Pham Binh Chuong confided that in the early stages, he often sought out small, quiet, and profound scenes of street corners and alleys, etc., and painted Hanoi with the depth and stillness of its appearance. In the later stages, he began to observe the vibrancy of life more and more intensely, seeking the values of life, rather than simply paying attention to the scenery.
The works of “Xuong pho” 2, 3… show a more lively Hanoi with the appearance of many elements of people, weather, landscapes, even images that are not as beautiful as classified ads have begun to be shown. “This is the time when I began to think that there should be “signs” of life, modern elements put into the paintings to bring a more authentic image of the city when painting about Hanoi,” artist Pham Binh Chuong shared.
Especially in "Xuong Pho 4," Pham Binh Chuong has pushed the perspective of a contemporary Hanoi to a higher level with the manifestations of a life filled with all the nuances. It is a Hanoi that contains within itself a life that is continuing and full of competition between the old and the new, between convenience and orderliness...
With more than 20 years of "Going to the streets," artist Pham Binh Chuong has achieved what many artists have longed for: turning paintings into not only fine art, but also a shared memory, where every Hanoian can find themselves in every street corner and rhythm of life. It is not only an artistic journey, but also a cultural and social memoir with a brush.
“Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange”
In the academic field, this year's Work Award category nominated the book "Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange." This is a book produced by The Gioi Publishing House, AA Architecture Construction Joint Stock Company and associates in a project dedicated to Hanoi's architectural art. The project lasts for 2 years (from 2022) with the participation of a strong team. In which, the author compiled the content, Dr., architect Tran Quoc Bao (lecturer at Hanoi University of Construction) and a large team of young people participating in design, illustration, photography, translation...
According to Mr. Nguyen Quoc Khanh, Chairman of AA Company, despite the war, Hanoi still retains most of the architectural heritage built from the feudal period to the French colonial period. These are talented works designed and executed by French and Vietnamese architects, artisans and workers. These heritages need to be preserved to inspire future generations of creators, to contribute to the capital's tourism economy and to preserve the elegant culture of Hanoi. The book "Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange" was born from such thoughts, resonating with the special love of the production team for Hanoi.
Architect Phan Dang Son, Chairman of the Vietnam Association of Architects, said that the book “Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange” has contributed to “awakening” the urban architectural heritage in Hanoi in a worthy and attractive way, converging the intelligence and talent of the group of authors to create a product rich in art, with both rich and scientific content and a romantic form.
According to many experts, the publication of the book “Hanoi Architecture - Vietnamese-French Cultural Exchange” has contributed to opening up a multi-dimensional perspective on the behavior, approach, and promotion of the value of architectural heritage, especially French-Vietnamese architectural heritage in Hanoi in the future. In the context of Hanoi facing the problem of preservation and development, this book contributes to shaping a civilized way of behaving with heritage, so that heritage is not only the past, but also a source of inspiration for the future.
Musical "Fire from the Earth," an epic about Hanoi
Unlike paintings and books, the musical “Fire from the Earth” by the Youth Theatre is an epic theatrical creation, likened to a heroic poem about Hanoi in the 1930s. Taking the image of Hanoi Party Secretary Nguyen Ngoc Vu, the play depicts a turbulent period of the capital, when the revolutionary fire was lit from the hearts of the people. This is a special work of art, recreating, preserving and honoring an extremely important part of the history of Hanoi and the whole country.
Meritorious Artist Cao Ngoc Anh, General Director of the musical, said that as a daughter of Hanoi, she always wanted to create an art work about Hanoi, expressing her love and gratitude for the place where she was born, raised, nurtured and matured. And the play “Fire from the Earth” was staged as an epic about a special period in the revolutionary history of the Vietnamese people in general and the revolutionary history of Hanoi in particular.
As a purely Vietnamese musical, “Fire from the Earth” contributes significantly to creating the foundation for Hanoi’s cultural industry, helping to affirm the city’s position in promoting Vietnamese culture to the world and affirming the potential of purely Vietnamese musicals on the contemporary art map.
It can be seen that the four works nominated in this year's Work Award converge on one thing in common, which is the love for Hanoi. If Chu Nhat Quang's lacquer paintings are a bridge connecting the past with the present, Pham Binh Chuong's street paintings are a memoir of urban life, Tran Quoc Bao's architecture book is a research paper on knowledge that awakens heritage, then the musical "Fire from the Earth" is an epic song about revolutionary Hanoi.
Although the works are different, they all share the same message: Hanoi is not just a place name, but a treasure trove of memories, an endless source of inspiration for creativity.
The jury assessed that the richness and outstanding quality of this year's works showed the strong vitality of Hanoi in contemporary art. In the context of integration and urbanization, when traditional values are easily overwhelmed, works like this are the way to preserve Hanoi's rich identity, both connected to the past and looking towards the future.
Regardless of which work wins in the end, all four nominees deserve to be honored. They are creative marks in literary and artistic works for the love of Hanoi./.
Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/giai-thuong-bui-xuan-phai-dau-an-sang-tao-trong-cac-tac-pham-vi-tinh-yeu-ha-noi-post1067583.vnp
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