Addressing the opening ceremony, Italian Ambassador to Vietnam Lorenzo Angeloni said the exhibition rendered a space with bright colours and intriguing colour combinations in Casa Italia, the cultural centre that serves as a meeting place between Italy and Vietnam.
He expressed his thanks to Vietnamese artists, specifically Phuong Viet, who have helped forge cultural connections between Italy and Vietnam.
The exhibition showcases a modern interpretation of the lotus as a traditional symbol of beauty, resilience and enlightenment through special oil painting techniques and the use of colours. The artist's choice of colours is challenging, with a seeming cacophony of hues ranging from acid greens to shocking fuchsias and fire-engine red, combining them harmoniously with surprising results. It seems that the painter is working more with emotions than with reality.
“An exhibition with a Vietnamese name, ‘Sen Viet’, featuring a symbol of Vietnam, being held in an Italian cultural centre certainly creates a harmonious feeling between Italy and Vietnam and between Europe and Asia”, commented Huong Giang, a visitor.
Hoang Hoa, another visitor, said: “When I am enjoying the paintings in the exhibition, I experience a feeling evocative of a sitting meditation retreat”.
Born in Hanoi in 1972, Dang Phuong Viet graduated from Hanoi Fine Arts University. Viet’s works mainly in oil on canvas in the language of modern realism. In the last fifteen years, Phuong Viet has showed works at a number of domestic and international exhibitions. In 2000, he was awarded a prize at the Hanoi Fine Arts Exhibition. He participated in the Asia-Pacific Exhibition and the ASEAN Fine Arts Awards in 2001, as well as in the Exhibition of the Hanoi UNESCO Fine Arts Centre in 2002.
Phuong Viet has become famous for his paintings of lotus flowers. According to the artist: “The flower has been a constant inspiration in art and poetry and the exhibition is an opportunity to expose foreign visitors to the beauty of the lotus flower, which is a powerful cultural symbol representing the noble soul and endless vitality of the Vietnamese people”.
The exhibition runs until December 9 at No.18 Le Phung Hieu Street.
