BIOGRAPHY
Artist: Ms. Nguyen Thi MaiBorn: 1966 in Vietnam
Profile
Nguyen Thi Mai spent five years away from Vietnam, living and working in Singapore from 1999 to 2004. The stark contrast between the highly stressful pace in Singapore and the laid back smell-the-roses approach to life in Vietnam gave her a tremendous culture shock. But it also served as a major source of inspiration, compelling her to turn to art to record her emotion.
On her return to Vietnam in May 2004, she decided to take up oil painting by taking lessons from Mr. Tham Duc Tu at the Art & Lacquer Club in Hanoi. Mr. Tu, a leading art professor in Vietnam, has over 40 years of teaching experience behind him in this field.
Mai is the latest revelation in Hanoi’s art scene. What started out as a hobby of interest has turned into something far more serious and engaging for her, once her natural talent in the field of painting has become clearly evident.
Her experience as an expatriate has given a more cosmopolitan look to her artwork. Rather than focusing on scenery, as is the norm in Vietnam, her work is mostly abstract in nature, with strong flavors of Cubism and Impressionism.
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2008
2008 was the year Mai ventured into lacquer painting. Although she had experimented with this form of expression a few years ago, 2008 saw a much more focused and concerted desire to bring lacquer painting into her repertoire.
2007
Mai started the use of Diep paper with water color and Chinese ink as a channel of expression for her creativity.
2006
Group Exhibition
The Art & Lacquer Club were invited to display their art pieces in an exhibition to commemorate the 17th Anniversary of the establishment of the Vietnam-Czech Cultural Friendship Palace.
The exhibition ran from 16th December to 23rd December, at the Vietnam-Czech Cultural Friendship Palace in the northern port city of Haiphong, Vietnam.
Porcelain Painting
Mai started experimenting with porcelain painting as a medium of expression in the early months of the year. She visited the procelain village of Bat Trang and started learning the demanding skill of painting on porcelain from the talented and experienced artisans there.
2005
Blooming Spring Solo Exhibition
Held at Sedona Suites Hanoi from 1st April to 1st May, Nguyen Thi Mai's inaugural exhibition featured her art pieces with oil on canvas as the sole medium.
Less than a year since the start of her immersion in painting, her work at this exhibition showed remarkable progress for someone who had no prior training in this field.
Group Exhibition In Hanoi
From 29th April to 9th May, Nguyen Thi Mai took part in a group exhibition organized by the Art & Lacquer Club at the Information Exhibition Center in downtown Hanoi, by the shore of the scenic Hoan Kiem Lake.
This exhibition highlighted the emerging talent in the Hanoi art scene.
It is around this time that Mai started experimenting with acrylic as an alternate medium to oil. For this exhibition, she chose to display a combination of both oil and acrylic paintings.
Seminar cum Workshop at Hue City
On 25th July, the Art & Lacquer Club organized a one-day exhibition cum seminar in Hue City. This event provided a forum for the emerging artists to interact and learn from the artists based in the ancient capital of Vietnam.