30-year-old artist with work 'Temporary Connection' wins top prize

W-0101 sv.jpg — Painter Cao Van Thuc won the highest award in the "Famous Artist" category.

The UOB Painting of the Year competition has just announced its awards in Ho Chi Minh City. Artist Cao Van Thuc with his work Temporary Connection has surpassed many other entries to win the highest award - Famous Artist .

The painting was created using lacquer and acid etching techniques on aluminum alloy. The work shows the artist's deep sympathy for the working class.

He wanted to depict the displaced identities in life, human solidarity and the urbanization process in big cities, through the lens of contemporary materials and techniques.

batch_1. UOB Painting of the Year Cao Van Thuc.jpg — "Temporary Connection" by artist Cao Van Thuc.

Through the work, Cao Van Thuc hopes to inspire people to reflect and contribute to narrowing the gaps in society with understanding, tolerance and empathy. The jury highly appreciated the work for its emotion, creativity and social message.

Winning the biggest category of the competition, artist Cao Van Thuc received a cash prize worth 500 million VND.

His work will also compete with winning entries from Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand for the 2025 Southeast Asia regional award. The award announcement event will be held in November in Singapore.

W-02 sv.jpg — Painter Nguyen Ngoc Thuan became the oldest author to win a prize in this year's competition.

Author Nguyen Ngoc Thuan, 53 years old, received the Most Promising Artist award with the work Self-portrait, 2025 (life takes root in me under the shadow of a tree).

The acrylic painting on canvas was inspired by a chest X-ray and the ICD (cardiac defibrillator) device that had been implanted in his body for the past decade.

The author says it's never too late to start. Nguyen Ngoc Thuan studied and became a painter 22 years ago, then suddenly changed direction to become a writer.

A few months ago, he decided to return to painting. Nguyen Ngoc Thuan describes his work as his life, a re-activation of life.

batch_1. Most Promising Artist of 2025 Nguyen Ngoc Thuan.jpg — The painting was inspired by a chest X-ray image and an ICD (cardio-defibrillator) device by the author Nguyen Ngoc Thuan himself.

“The painting above is like my life, it helps me to revive my life. During 10 years in the hospital, my immune system was weakened, at times the index was almost zero.

Therefore, for many years I have limited communication with people. After my health stabilized, I decided to return to drawing,” he said.

This is the third time the UOB Painting of the Year competition has been held in Vietnam, part of a series of programs to search for and develop talent in the region.

Mr. Dang Xuan Hoa - Chairman of the Painting Arts Council, Vietnam Fine Arts Association, Head of the contest's Jury - said that the contest contributes to creating momentum for the development of domestic fine arts, while at the same time harmonizing the common voice of fine arts in the region.

Mr. Hoa expressed his joy because through the competition, he saw a generation of young people in contemporary art with the viewpoint of daring to think, daring to do and daring to express themselves. Their spirit and love were fully expressed in the works participating in this year's competition.

He also hopes that they will see the good things in life, love for their homeland... to explore in their works and spread widely.

Some of the winning entries in the competition