Italian painter Laura Federici and Vietnamese painter Nguyen Dam Thuy have worked together to portray the home and the environment.

A painting of an historic landscape by Laura Federici

Their joint exhibition Home, which opened in Hanoi on October 14, is the result of an unprecedented residency project that allowed Federici to experience life and work in HCM City at Thuy’s home. The project will take Thuy to Italy in the near future.

By painting side-by-side, Federici and Thuy – previously strangers to each other – have quickly developed a connection, resulting in the evolution of the colours and forms of their paintings, mutually affected, influenced and enriched by the unpredictable path of their artistic and human exchanges.

Cecilia Piccioni, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam, said Home was far more than an art exhibition.

“It is an experimental journey through feelings and creativity celebrating the values of understanding, acceptance and integration which have always been at the core of the friendship between Italian and Vietnamese people,” she said.

“A friendship rooted in time, nourished by solidarity during the difficult times of post-war reconstruction, continues to flourish thanks to the dynamic exchange of ideas and projects by many Italian and Vietnamese entrepreneurs, researchers, students and artists.

“People-to-people contacts are a precious common “home” that Italy and Vietnam are committed to jointly fostering and broadening,” she said

Federici lives and works in Rome. She has held several exhibitions in Syria, Italy, the US and France. Her art – large oils on canvas, videos, pictorial interventions on photographs – mostly reflect the reality of what she has seen and experienced.

Thuy was born and raised in the Mekong Delta province of Ben Tre. She lives in HCM City and participates in the local art scene. She has held several exhibitions in Ho Chi Minh City and in Germany, China, Thailand and the US. Her painting style reflects nature, blending between impressions and reality.

The project was started by Carlotta Colli, Consul General of Italy in HCM City, when she attended one of Thuy’s exhibitions on the environment.

She connected the two artists and organised the exhibition. Home is a colourful and joyful call to raise people’s awareness on the need to protect the Earth.

“The artist’s works depict water landscapes along the canals in the Mekong Delta, the floating houses along the rivers or views of Rome under a charming tropical rain.

"They are a gentle reminder of our common duty to preserve our environment and its beauty for future generations,” said Piccioni.

The project is part of the European Climate Diplomacy Week.

“Our paintings seem to me joyful songs, full of subtlety and nuance and suggestions in their many colours,” said Thuy.

“We are two distinct artists from different cultures, but I think we share a common interest in our representation of nature and bring love of our home towns into startling focus.”

The exhibition, consisting of about 30 artworks, will be showcased at Casa Italia, 18 Le Phung Hieu Street, Hanoi.

The artists also joined an informal discussion on art and creativity as a way of raising awareness on environmental challenges.

VNA