Lacquer Paintings
We are pleased to offer a selection of Vietnamese lacquer paintings acquired direct from the artists or their agents.
A Brief History
Vietnamese lacquer painting combines the traditional skills associated with the use of lacquer for handicrafts and decorative items with the influence of Western paintings and techniques introduced by the French to Vietnam after the establishment by the French of the Fine Arts University in Hanoi in 1925.
The first lacquer paintings were essentially conservative in nature, showing scenes of natural beauty whilst later they promoted the socialist and communist values that reflected the political climate of the times. However as Vietnam became more outward looking in the 1980s and 1990s young artists have explored and reinvented the old art form, placing it in a new and contemporary context to create highly original and interesting paintings. Each artist has different ways of using lacquer to produce paintings, some of which are known only to the artists themselves. Producing a painting can take several weeks depending on the techniques and number of layers of lacquer that are used. Some paintings in fact are completed over a period of months.
The Raw Materials
The lacquer used in Vietnamese lacquer painting is the same material as used to finish the beautiful Residence fine wood furniture.
Lacquer is harvested in the same way as rubber from any of six species of tree growing in Vietnam . Incisions are made in the trunk and the sap flows into large bamboo barrels covered tightly with wax paper to make them airproof. Because the resin will dry out and darken instantly if exposed to water, wind and sunlight harvesting can only be carried out between midnight and dawn.
Black lacquer is created by a reaction between iron and the lacquer and results from stirring the lacquer with an iron rod for several days, several shades of red are created using a naturally occurring red mineral, cinnabar whilst white is produced using egg shells. Most bright colours come from utilising dyes.
The board used as the base for the painting has a core of plywood to which five layers of thin cotton cloth soaked in clay is applied. After each application the board is smoothed and polished before the next coat is applied. This is followed by the application of layers of black lacquer and finally after drying the board is given a final polish.
The Artists
Residence is proud to present the works of Dihn Quan, a well-known lacquer artist with an increasing reputation for innovation, and Le Hoang Nguyen, an emerging young artist.
Dinh Quan
1964 Born in Hai Phong , North Vietnam
1990 Graduated from the Hanoi Fine Art Institute
Member of the Hanoi Fine Art Association
Solo Exhibitions
1997 Exhibition "Realistic and Illusion World in Dinh Quan's Art" at Trang Gallery, Hanoi
1999 Exhibition at Hanoi Studio, Hanoi
2002 Exhibition at Thavibu Gallery, Bangkok , Thailand
2004 Exhibition at Thavibu Gallery, Bangkok , Thailand
Group Exhibitions
1993 Hang Bai Exhibition House, Hanoi
1996 Fujita Vente Museum , Tokyo , Japan
1997 "Vietnam Express - Contemporary Arts from Vietnam", Washington DC , USA
1998 "With Heart and Soul and Mind", New York Arts Centre , New York , USA
1999 Cork Street Gallery, London , UK
2000 Gajah Gallery , Singapore
2002 "Where The Rivers Meet", Vietnam Cultural Festival , Luxembourg
Dinh Quan is one of the foremost lacquer painters in Vietnam today, and his paintings are highly regarded not only in his native Vietnam , but also in Western Europe and North America.
Female figures are almost always at the centre of his lacquer paintings. They reflect his great admiration of women and the female form, his representations of which are sometimes deconstructed, but always undeniably beautiful.
To view our selection of Dinh Quan paintings click here
Le Hoang Nguyen
1970 Born in Hai Phong , North Vietnam
1993 Graduated from the Hanoi Fine Art Institute
Member of the Hanoi Fine Art Association
Solo Exhibitions
1998 Exhibition of lacquer paintings at the Vietnam Fine Art Association
1999 Exhibition at Hilton Opera Hotel, Hanoi
Group Exhibitions
1994 Hanoi Fine Art Exhibition
1995 National Fine Art Exhibition
1997 Asian Fine Art Exhibition in Vietnam , Philippines , Singapore , Brunei
2000 The National Fine Art Exhibition
2001 E Gallery Hong Kong "With heart and soul and mind"
Singapore The Worlds' premier contemporary Asian art exhibition
2002 Exhibition of lacquer paintings at E Gallery, Hong Kong
Exhibition at Geneva Fine Art Association
Brothers Exhibition in Singapore
2003 Soul of Asia Gallery - Bangkok
Le Hoang Nguyen is an emerging artist whose paintings are becoming increasingly appreciated in the West. The serenity of his subjects is contrasted vividly with the vibrancy of his colours. Much of his work has an almost three-dimensional quality indeed "opalescent" has been used to describe the appearance of some of his work.
To view our selection of Le Hoang Nguyen paintings click here |
