Telling the story of Hanoi's streets and people through the exhibition "Dreaming of Where It Began"

The three artists, Bui Tuan Thanh, Do Doan Chau, and Doan Hoang Lam, belong to different generations, but they are connected not only through their love of painting, but also through shared memories and stories about people and the streets of Hanoi .

Artist Bui Tuan Thanh was born in 1941 in Hanoi. From a very young age, he showed a natural talent for painting. At the age of 15, he began to teach himself oil and watercolor painting using French materials. Two years later, he joined the "Hanoi Handicraft Cooperative," which brought together the best artists from Hanoi's traditional craft villages. Later, he studied and graduated from the first class of the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts. He also trained many outstanding students, many of whom have achieved success in their careers.

Artist Do Doan Chau, born in 1943, is active in both theater and fine arts. He served as the Director of the Vietnam National Drama Theater and was awarded the title of People's Artist in 2007. He has designed the art for approximately 400 plays, including many works that are remembered by the public such as "My Ha My," "Living Forever at 17," "King Lia," "Bamboo Forest," "Tu Xuong," and "The Leader in Indigo Robe"...

Artist Doãn Hoàng Lâm, born in 1970, graduated from the Vietnam Fine Arts University and is a successor to artists Bùi Tuấn Thanh and Đỗ Doãn Châu. Notably, he also graduated from the Stage Design department of the University of Theatre and Film.

Sharing his thoughts on the exhibition, artist Do Doan Chau said that while the styles of artists like Bui Tuan Thanh and Doan Hoang Lam are clearly evident, his own paintings give the impression of showcasing many different styles. He explained that this diversity stems from his time studying stage painting abroad, where his teacher told him that one needs to learn and practice all schools of art: from impressionism, abstraction, realism to objectification... He believed one must learn them all to become a stage painter.

“That’s why, when I returned to Vietnam, besides my work designing stages, I painted in many genres: abstract in the morning, realistic in the afternoon, abstract in the evening… I painted in all kinds of styles. Later, when I adapted them for the stage, I had to create everything from Shakespearean styles to traditional Vietnamese opera and theater…” – said painter Do Doan Chau.

For artist Doan Hoang Lam, this was one of the most impressive exhibitions he had ever seen, as he had the opportunity to display his paintings alongside two senior artists: one a friend of his father's, and the other his teacher. Doan Hoang Lam recounted his first impressions of artist Bui Tuan Thanh from a very young age, when he met a "skinny" artist setting up an easel and painting on the street, and who, even now, half a century later, still stands there painting on the street.

For artist Do Doan Chau, he was not only a mentor guiding him on the path of stage design, but also inspired him with a style of stage painting. From those first steps, artist Doan Hoang Lam decided to pursue a career in painting and enrolled in a formal art school.

The exhibition "Dreaming of Where It Began" is a collection of memories from three artists about Hanoi through different periods, encompassing both nostalgia and change, with the past intertwined with present life.

In the memories and perceptions of artists, Hanoi appears through familiar images: old tiled roofs, faded window panes, trees whose leaves change with the seasons, familiar street corners, and a simple rhythm of life that has quietly permeated their spiritual lives over the years. These seemingly familiar things, over time, become a part of nostalgia, love, and a deep attachment to the city.

In "Dreaming of the Beginning," Hanoi is also depicted through the images of its quintessentially Hanoian people: a young woman in an ao dai sitting on a rattan chair, a girl taking a midday nap in a hammock, figures in woolen and woolen coats in a Tet flower market, or young men and women in ao dai and suits with fedora hats going to Quan Thanh Temple alongside women in brown robes carrying baskets of flowers…

The exhibition's title, "Dreaming of Where It Began," is taken from a work by artist Do Doan Chau, evoking a place that is not only geographically significant but also the origin of emotions, experiences, and a love of art. For the three artists, Hanoi is such a place, a city that, despite its daily changes, remains a cherished memory to return to.

Through the exhibition, three artists, Bui Tuan Thanh, Do Doan Chau, and Doan Hoang Lam, share with the public their unique perspectives on Hanoi, from familiar aspects of daily life to the imprints of time that are gradually transforming the city.

Three artists, each with a different creative journey, meet at a common point: Hanoi. Each work is a way of seeing, remembering, and preserving the city through painting; simultaneously reflecting the connection between personal memory and urban memory.

"Dreaming of the Beginning" is therefore not simply a return to the past. The exhibition opens a dialogue between memory and the present, between ancient traces and a Hanoi that is constantly transforming. In this flow, layers of culture, lifestyle, and the unique beauty of the city are silently preserved through the perceptions and artistic language of each artist.