Thanh Chuong

In the early 1990s, the artists who had already achieved fame were often regarded as the “golden generation” of Vietnamese fine arts. However, few people realize that it was the generation of artists emerging in the 1980s who truly laid the foundation for Renovation-era art, introducing new cultural perspectives, intellectual depth, aesthetic awareness, and innovative structural approaches to artistic creation. Nguyễn Thành Chương is one of the rare artists of the 1980s generation whose artistic narrative remains strikingly relevant today.

Over many years, without significant changes in motifs, Thành Chương has remained faithful to recurring images in his paintings: a young buffalo boy wandering with a flute, a water buffalo, the moon, and at times a contemplative self-portrait. The aesthetic strength of his work lies in his ability to distill forms to a high level of abstraction, his use of bold, primary colors charged with inner force, his multidimensional transformations of structure, and an unmistakable Vietnamese cultural spirit.

As one of the few artists capable of exploring the multiple dimensions of national cultural values, Thành Chương has also succeeded in reinterpreting the essence of Vietnamese architecture through his Việt Phủ complex. The architecture there is not merely a collection of structures—from dwellings to sacred spaces, from the humble to the refined—but a profound reconstruction and transmission of the Vietnamese soul and aesthetic sensibility across generations.

Biography

1949: Born in Bac Ninh, Vietnam
1960: Studied at Hanoi College of Fine Arts

Career

1966: Joined the army and worked in military technical services
Participated in combat in Central Vietnam, Laos, and the Central Highlands

1974: Worked as an artist for Thong Nhat Magazine

1975 – Present: Principal artist for Van Nghe Weekly Newspaper

Began painting at the age of 7 and won a Gold Medal at an International Children’s Art Competition

Exhibitions

1973:
– Third Prize, Hanoi Art Exhibition

1974:
– Illustration Art Exhibition, Hanoi
– International Graphic Art Award, Czech Republic

1976:
– Hanoi Fine Arts Exhibition

1980:
– Hanoi Fine Arts Exhibition
– Award from Van Nghe Weekly Newspaper

1984:
– Award from Van Nghe Weekly Newspaper

1985:
– National Fine Arts Exhibition

1987:
– Hanoi Group Exhibition, Ho Chi Minh City

1988:
– Hanoi Group Exhibition, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum, Hanoi
– Award from Van Nghe Weekly Newspaper

1994:
– Art Exhibition in China
– Asian Art Exhibition, Hong Kong

1995:
– Solo Exhibition at Red River Gallery
– Exhibition at the Royal College of Contemporary Art, London, UK
– “Vietnam Integration” Exhibition, Copenhagen, Denmark
– Exhibition in Yokohama, Japan

1996:
– Exhibition in Seoul, South Korea
– Hanoi Painting Exhibition at the Center for Promotion and Innovation, Hanoi

1997:
– A Glimpse of Hanoi, Duc Minh Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City
– The Changing Face of Hanoi, Hong Kong
– Aspiration, Daewoo & Nam Son Gallery, Hanoi
– Thanh Chuong Paintings, Vietnam Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City
– Golden Pen, organized by the Faber Foundation, Castel, Ho Chi Minh City
– Nostalgia, Sofitel Metropole Hotel & Red River Gallery, Hanoi
– Vietnamese Paintings Exhibition, Christie’s, Netherlands
– Seine River, Nam Son Gallery, Hanoi
– A New Day, Hanoi College of Fine Arts

1998:
– With Heart, Soul and Intellect, New World Art Center, New York, USA
– View from Hanoi, Ho Chi Minh City
– View from Vietnam, Prudential Collection
– Exhibition of Five Contemporary Vietnamese Artists, Vinh Loi Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City

1999:
– Life Memories, London, UK
– International Exhibition, South Korea
– Colors of Vietnam, New World Hotel & Vinh Loi Gallery, Ho Chi Minh City
– 4th Vietnamese Contemporary Art Exhibition, Gallery U, Osaka, Japan
– Vietnamese Painting Exhibition, Seoul, South Korea
– Two Contemporary Vietnamese Artists, Vietnam – Takamatsu & Kyoto, Japan
– The World of Thanh Chuong’s Lacquer Paintings, Nam Son Gallery, Hanoi
– Thanh Chuong’s Lacquer Paintings, Gallery U, Osaka, Japan

2001:
– Painting “Love” selected by the United Nations to be issued as a stamp and used as the official symbol for International Volunteers Year

2002:
– Group Exhibition “Vision of Vietnam”, King Road, London, UK
– Group Exhibition “Vietnam Inspiration”, Kim 3 International Furnishings, Santa Barbara, USA

2003:
– Group Exhibition, Jakarta, Indonesia
– Group Exhibition, Belgium

2006:
– Group Exhibition “Dragon and Butterfly”, Victoria Museum, Italy
– Group Exhibition “Spirit and Stories”, Gascoigne Gallery, UK
– Group Exhibition “Expression and Impression – Contemporary Vietnamese Art”, Thailand

2007:
– Group Exhibition “Hello Vietnam – Hello Korea”, Seoul Cultural Exchange Center, South Korea

Awards

1973: Third Prize, Hanoi Fine Arts Exhibition
1974: International Graphic Art Award, Czech Republic
1980: First Prize, Illustration Competition organized by Culture and Arts Newspaper
1984: First Prize, Illustration Competition organized by Culture and Arts Newspaper
1994: Second Prize, National Graphic Art Competition, Vietnam Fine Artists Association
2001: Selected as one of six international artists worldwide whose works were chosen by the United Nations for international stamp publication