City artist’s paintings send message of environmental concern

TOP ARTIST - Visitors view paintings by HCM City-based artist Đoàn Thế Vỹ on display at the exhibition Tâm Cảnh (State of Mind), opening at the city Fine Arts Association until October 26. Photo courtesy of the artist

HCM CITY – An exhibition of HCM City-based artist Đoàn Thế Vỹ’s paintings, featuring the beauty of nature and environmental concerns, is opening at the city Fine Arts Association.

The exhibition, titled Tâm Cảnh (State of Mind), showcases over 30 large-scale semi-abstract paintings describing his self-discovery journey, and the harmony between nature and his inner world.

Vỹ said, “Trips across Việt Nam help me to explore the beauty of nature, and even nurture my love for our homeland and people. This love also conveys my concerns about the changes of nature and environmental issues in modern times.”

The artist used various materials of oil paint, colour powder, watercolour, lacquer, and mixed media to create an intersection of reality and fantasy.

He mixed colour streaks to blend transparency and opacity, and looseness and sharpness in his paintings.

Vỹ said his paintings often reflected the harmony of art and life, and nature’s beauty and the artist’s soul. However, his recent works have expressed a deeper perspective on the changes in nature, environment and life.

The artist will donate the sales of his painting titled Tâm Cảnh 10 to the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee to support people affected by typhoon Yagi and its aftermath.

GIVING BACK - All the sales of Vỹ’s painting titled Tâm Cảnh 10 will go to the Việt Nam Fatherland Front Central Committee to support people affected by typhoon Yagi and its aftermath. Photo courtesy of the artist

Vỹ was born into a family with a music tradition in the Cửu Long (Mekong) Delta Province of Long An. He graduated from the city Fine Arts University in 2006, and then worked in television.

In 2014, he quit his job to pursue his passion for fine arts.

He has participated in several exhibitions across Việt Nam and received a prize from the Việt Nam Fine Arts Association for his contributions to the country’s fine arts.

Vỹ is currently head of the Thủ Đức City’s Fine Arts Club. He has brought his club members to display paintings in Việt Nam to connect artists in the city and neighbouring provinces.

Vỹ’s exhibition runs until October 26 at 218A Pasteur Street in District 3. – VNS