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| Lacquer paintings by nine artists are displayed at the Evolution of Heritage exhibition in Hà Nội. Photo znews.vn |
HÀ NỘI — A sơn mài (lacquer) painting exhibition in Hà Nội gathers artists from different generations, becoming a link between the ancient tradition and the vitality of contemporary creation.
Entitled Evolution of Heritage, the exhibition situates Việt Nam’s signature medium within a continuous current of movement where memory, technique and creative spirit across generations coexist, intersect and redefine one another.
Rather than recounting history through illustrative imagery, the exhibition delves into the enduring spirit embedded within the passage of time, where collective memory and cultural values persist beneath the surface of form and colour.
The works explore what lacquer art has accumulated over decades: depth of material, technical discipline and a refined artistic ethos shaped across generations.
Contemporary experimentation in technique and material use reflects a heritage that is not static, but dynamic — sustained through successive generations while remaining rooted in the cultural identity that defines its value.
Nguyễn Hải Nam has been long associated with lacquer art, while also working across other media. Nam said the exhibition demonstrates the diversity of the traditional material.
“No one in the exhibition represents a standard definition; each contributes an individual voice to a collective dialogue,” the artist noted.
“By placing works from different generations side by side, the exhibition creates a continuous flow in which inheritance and innovation are not opposites, but parallel forces.”
According to the organisers, presenting artists who work in the same medium not only broadens the public’s perspective, but also allows them to reassess their own practices in relation to others.
Each work is defined by its unique and its unmistakable personal imprint, helping lacquer art move beyond a linear understanding of tradition and revealing a broader range of expressive possibilities.
If the exhibition sketches a panorama of contemporary lacquer artwork, the individual practices within it open onto more intimate narratives.
As the only female artist at the exhibition, Trương Thúy Anh does not position herself as distinct on the basis of gender — rather, she regards singularity as an intrinsic demand of artistic practice.
With a background in architecture and largely self-taught in fine arts, Thúy Anh approaches her lacquer work not as a fixed traditional formula, but as a medium that resists complete control and which contains elements of unpredictability.
In the works presented, she turns to the image of women as a tribute to the quiet virtues of mothers and grandmothers within family life, rather than invoking religious iconography or grand narratives.
The Evolution of Heritage exhibition runs until March 28 at Tràng Tiền Plaza. — VNS
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