VietNamNet Bridge – Local artist Alan Nguyen will bring 30 portraits made of oil on canvas to the HCMC Fine Arts Museum on Friday in his first solo exhibition called “People Around Me.”

Artist Alan Nguyen poses for a photo with his paintings

In “People Around Me,” visitors will have a chance to meet enigmatic colorful human faces with different nuances, mostly jactation and misery in their soul and life. Characters in the paintings don’t say anything; they keep silent and communicate with viewers by unspeakable eyes and utterable faces and figures.

The characters are depicted by natural and bold penmanship, overlapping oil layers and disorderly deleted lines. The emotion of the artist is sometimes gentle and sometimes strong as if the artist invaded the character’s soul and mind.

To many people, art is a journey to seek a balance for their instinctive feelings as well as to find a way for their meaningful existence. That way, Nguyen is not an exception.

Since 2010, he has devoted all his effort to art and his emotion in work is reflected in the faces of the portraits of people around him. Without any professional training, he is a self-taught artist using his perception, senses and instincts.

“People said the right thing comes at the right moment and I believe I have recognized my passion for art and chased it down in due time. I have learned by going to many exhibitions around town, seeing paintings in the internet, books and life as much as I can as well as asking for ideas from foregoers,” Nguyen said.

Born Nguyen Cong Hoai in 1984, the Dong Nai native added, “Fore sure, I have painted restlessly to improve myself.” He has painted hundreds of portraits and has joined some group exhibitions in Saigon, Indonesia, Hong Kong, Seoul and Singapore.

The exhibition, curated and sponsored by Orient Painting Gallery, will run until July 17 at the museum, 97 Pho Duc Chinh Street in HCMC’s District 1.