'Nàng ấy' (She), a lacqueur by Nguyễn Mai Loan created in 2022. — Photo courtesy of the artist.

Artists, Nguyễn Thu Hương, Nguyễn Mai Loan, Phan Minh Bạch and Ngô Bình Nhi have been close friends since they were students at the Việt Nam University of Fine Arts (VNUFA) and experienced hardships together in their lives and careers.

In this exhibition themed Lacameo 4x4, the group present a total of 48 paintings at Mai Gallery, 113 Hàng Bông Street, Hoàn Kiếm District until November 26, giving views of humanity and the relationships between humans and human situations, which art pursues.

The four artist members of Lacameo group in the yard of Việt Nam University of Fine Art. — Photo courtesy of the Lacameo

They may have four different personalities and different styles of artistic expression but have a common passion for painting so their works can convey sensitivity, sophistication and pure femininity. They reflect the beauty of humans and life in different artistic motifs and styles using different painting materials such as gold, silver, acrylic, lacquer, silk and rice paper.

Coming to the Lacameo 4x4, viewers will feel a world full of tenderness through the lens of painters, as well as the space of self-portraits of women full of goodness and tolerance.

As the four artists all were born after 1975, in the post-war generation and grew up from the hard times of a subsidised society to the đổi mới (reformed) and mở cửa (open door) policies, they still carry most of the traditional characteristics of Vietnamese women.

Nguyễn Thu Hương is specialising in silk painting with any of her works focusing on female body (nude). In her eight works displayed at the exhibition, she notably uses new technical manipulations to improve the surface of the silk to reflect her main ideas.

'Hương 3', a silk painting by Nguyễn Thu Hương. — Photo courtesy of the artist

She meticulously separates each silk thread, braids and knots them in a purposeful position to fix the design, layout and emphasis exposing the content that she intends to show.

"Having had three successful solo exhibitions in Hà Nội and HCM City previously as well as many group exhibitions at home and abroad, Hương presents her works at this event as her experiments to create not only a professional 'new surface' of silk but also a breakthrough from the 'inherent two-dimensional space' in silk paintings, increasing the sense of material and the artist's individuality," according to art critic and researcher Vũ Ngọc Thuyên or Vũ Huy Thông from the VNUFA's Institute of Fine Art.

With two paintings using the fiber splitting/braiding technique, silk has become the material for Hương to explore new aesthetic aspects, both visually and materially, Thông said.

Meanwhile, lacquer is the traditional material that Nguyễn Mai Loan pursues and uses the most to create as she has loved it very much since she was a student at the VNUFA.

The "Lacameo 4x4" exhibition was opened last weekend and will run until November 26 at Mai Gallery in Hàng Bông Street, Hà Nội's Hoàn Kiếm District. — VNS Photo Huy Sơn

Loan possesses 20 years of experience in art research and criticism. She works at the VNUFA's Institute of Fine Art and has participated in many exhibitions held by the university.

Speaking about her creating methods, Loan said: "I have no plan for painting but can create every time I get the inspiration like when I admire the beauty of nature or right at the moment when I come up with an idea."

From still life to human images and abstraction paintings, Loan always creates her lacquer artworks with deep love, sincerity and affection.

'Hạ Long Mờ Sương' (Foggy Hạ Long), a lacqueur painting by Nguyễn Mai Loan. — Photo courtesy of the artist

The lacquer artist impresses viewers at the Lacameo 4x4 with 16 of her works a majority of which feature the spiritual and body beauty of women and medication.

Phan Minh Bạch has been engaged in professional painting since 2018. Before that, she was a newspaper designer and a researcher of ancient culture and art. She also studied drawing techniques and using pigments on dó and tuyên paper, silk canvas and making art books. Bạch had a personal exhibition called Mây Ngỏ (Open Clouds) in Hà Nội displaying her findings on colour and ink painting techniques on silk as well as new ways of presenting silk paintings.

'Rừng Vàng 1' (Golden Forest), a painting by Phan Minh Bạch using dye-na-flow colour and gold leaf on silk. — Photo courtesy of the Lacameo

Bạch's paintings feature the natural world but in the form of abstract biological art, towards the primordial nature of the natural world composition from which to create a space for thoughts/interpretations about the laws of "creation, persistence, destruction, and emptiness of the truth of impermanence".

Ngô Bình Nhi has been pursuing professional composition since 2013 with three solo and many group exhibitions. Nhi prefers a liberal and expressive painting style even though her paintings mostly revolve around Buddhist themes - the religion she has practiced for many years.

Nhi's paintings often appear with motifs of lotus flowers, insects, and herbs. In this joint exhibition, she displays 15 paintings on rice paper - a type of ivory-white handmade paper with a porous surface that can strongly absorb water. Her works were created during her time studying and practicing Buddhism in Nepal so most of them have the silhouette of a monk.

Hà Nội's 'Lacameo' painters showcase beauty of life and femininity

This is the second time the Lacameo group has exhibited their latest paintings since last year when the artists displayed their works at Art Space of VNUFA.

The group set plan for future that they will periodically exhibit their compositions, both as an effort and a way to maintain and encourage each other on the "challenging and arduous" artistic career. — VNS