HCMC-based young artist Pham Thanh Toan will put on a solo exhibition of paintings from July 20 to August 10 at Craig Thomas Gallery in District 1, HCMC.

“The Day I Was Born, The Day I Became The King” by Pham Thanh Toan, one of the paintings that will be displayed at the young artist’s “King” solo exhibition 

Although Toan is 26 years old, he has long emanated a clear sense of being a prodigy in the making. He began the vigorous pursuit of his career immediately after his graduation from the Fine Arts University of HCMC in 2017.

“I said to myself that I need to work diligently at the beginning of my career so that people would get to know my works and opportunities would come later. I was quite lucky as I had a number of close friends who were willing to lend a helping hand,” he said.

Toan’s collection for the forthcoming “King” exhibition comprises a bold batch of primarily over-sized canvases with several of the works being quadriptychs and pentaptychs. The effect of such large paintings, often done in thick layers of imported oils, is immediate and visceral.

The works of the “King” collection represent a daring and iconoclastic entry onto the Vietnamese art scene for such a young artist.

Toan is aware of the unique nature of his style and that his paintings may spark diverse reactions from his viewers.

He said: “I think there will be many different streams of thought. Some of them will not like this style of painting since the meanings are not obvious and some of the compositions could be frightening to some.

“Still, I hope that they will be generous with me and not focus only on my faults. Everyone has imperfections but the important thing to see is if the author of a creative work has something special about them.”

SGT