Painter Do Son returns with his 5th exhibition

The work "Mother's Heart" by artist Do Son.

Since his 4th solo exhibition in 2008 at Thang Long Gallery, Hanoi, with paintings in the Moroccan Royal Collection, 17 years later, Do Son has returned for his 5th solo exhibition, because the world of fine arts and painting is eagerly waiting.

This exhibition is not only an opportunity for the public to admire his paintings, but also an artistic journey back to memories, emotions and creative milestones throughout more than half a century of holding a brush - a complete "return" in the space of art and soul.

The exhibition includes 92 works and sketches, with a variety of materials. At the exhibition, art lovers will feel the flexible transformation and constant renewal in Do Son's art through works from battlefield sketches to later landscape paintings, young women, still life, and nudes.

The works displayed at the exhibition all bear a special mark in his artistic journey. Among them, the painting "Sea Flowers" is a turning point, expressing the inspiration from the sea and the artist's inner lyricism. This painting was awarded the State Prize, 4th time, in 2016, and was the only work nominated for the Ho Chi Minh Prize and the State Prize for Literature and Arts. The oil painting "Sea Flowers" was also awarded the Gold Medal at the National Fine Arts Exhibition on the theme of the Armed Forces in 1984 and is collected by the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum.

Although he is a painter who has been deeply attached to the theme of war and the army, Do Son's paintings of women and daily life show another world: gentle, discreet, poetic and contemplative. These are spaces where viewers not only "see" but also "feel" - the beauty of stillness, of daily life, and of the artist's inner self.

Besides paintings of islands, soldiers, landscapes, etc., paintings of young women, interior rooms, still life and daily life also occupy a significant part of his artistic journey. This is the “feminine space” – where he expresses a gentle, profound and very personal world.

The inspiration and positive influence from the creative spirit ahead of his time of the Western painters he loved also contributed to Do Son's later paintings with a diversity of brushwork, especially the boldness and youthfulness in the use of original, vibrant colors without being harsh or ostentatious.

For him, each painting is a lesson in one or several aspects of the overall artistic expertise. It could be about how to combine primary colors, how to handle aesthetic details, how to manage space... One can see the details and compositions repeated in more than one nude painting, lotus pond painting, painting about rural memories, but the color palette and emotions from the character's appearance are not repeated.

The feminine and everyday space in Do Son’s paintings is the “breathing space” of art – helping viewers not only to admire the paintings, but also to find harmony. This also enriches the artist’s portrait: he is not only a historian, but also a keeper of emotions, beauty and poetry of everyday life.

Painter Do Son was born in 1943, studied at the Vietnam College of Fine Arts, now the Vietnam University of Fine Arts, and worked in the military environment - he was a witness to a turbulent period in painting.

After graduating from the Intermediate level, school year 1961-1964, Vietnam College of Fine Arts (now Vietnam University of Fine Arts), he joined the army, and spent many years working and fighting in the battlefield of Zone V. In 1971, he was injured and had to be transferred to the North for treatment and then returned to work at the People's Army Newspaper.

The desire to create paintings always burned within him, he was determined to take the entrance exam to the 5-year program - Vietnam College of Fine Arts, school year 1973-1978, even though at that time, he was 30 years old, had his own family and small children, and his material life was still full of difficulties.

After graduating, he returned to work at the Army Fine Arts Workshop, Vietnam Military History Museum, until his retirement. As he shared: All his life, he only did one professional job, which was painting, he did no other work, he did no other role.

Besides 8 works in the collection of the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, his paintings have been collected by organizations and individuals from 26 countries and territories outside of Vietnam, including the Singapore Art Museum, the Collection of the Royal Family of Morocco, the Art Collection of Mobil Company, USA....

On October 3 at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, the exhibition “Do Son’s Paintings” will introduce 92 works and sketches, with diverse materials, by artist Do Son - a name with many important contributions to the innovation and development of Vietnamese fine arts since the early 1980s, especially during the Doi Moi period of the country in general, and of fine arts creation in particular.

The 92 works and sketches in this exhibition were selected from the artist's family archives, including some painted recently.

Source: https://nhandan.vn/hoa-si-do-son-tro-lai-voi-trien-lam-lan-thu-5-post911977.html