Chu Nhat Quang - The preserver of traditional lacquer

Artist Chu Nhat Quang comes from a family with a tradition of making lacquer and water puppets. Since childhood, he has been fascinated by sacred animals such as turtles, dragons, unicorns, and phoenixes. Along with that, he loves to go to spiritual places. Therefore, his lacquer works always depict sacred animals and temples.

Painter Chu Nhat Quang is completing the lacquer painting he is passionate about.

In his landscape lacquer paintings, he always harmoniously combines tradition and modernity, bringing images of simple and peaceful Vietnamese villages. Through each work, Chu Nhat Quang not only shows his respect and love for cultural values ​​but also brings a new, modern perspective to Vietnamese lacquer art.

Chu Nhat Quang said: Making lacquer paintings has never been an easy process. Although the materials are not difficult to find, what determines the success or failure of a work lies in the artist's technique, as a painting requires many steps.

"The colors in his paintings were "programmed" from the moment he decided to pursue lacquer, which is the traditional color of red lacquer and gold leaf. But halfway through his creation, the urge to create his own identity made him choose colors according to his preferences, still keeping the tradition but with different color blocks and brightnesses that reflect the breath of the times," painter Chu Nhat Quang shared.

Looking at the works with "very Western" nuances, bright, fresh colors and modern color mixing techniques of painter Chu Nhat Quang, viewers seem to be immersed in the beautiful and peaceful space in the countryside, the paintings bring viewers a feeling of warmth, familiarity, closeness,...

Painter Chu Nhat Quang admits that he was lucky to be born and raised in a family with two generations deeply attached to traditional art.

Painter Chu Nhat Quang admits that he was lucky to be born and raised in a family with two generations deeply attached to traditional art. His grandfather is People's Artist Chu Manh Chan - one of the outstanding artists with a deep passion for restoring and preserving the cultural heritage of the Northern countryside through lacquer art. His father is Meritorious Artist Chu Luong - former Director of Thang Long Puppetry Theater with a passion for water puppetry.

The artistic values ​​and love for traditional culture that his grandfather and father passed down have always quietly flowed like underground streams, deeply penetrating the blood and flesh of young artist Chu Nhat Quang since his childhood. Thanks to that, his painting style was shaped, he embraced this difficult material with all his love and a passion that never went out.

Painter Chu Nhat Quang loves to paint and paints a lot. He paints continuously, without stopping, both to satisfy his passion and to free his inner self. He is currently focusing on creating a series of lacquer paintings following the stream of consciousness, a series of paintings expressing memories and reflections from the past. He paints what is in his thoughts, in his mind, memories of the past, of his childhood, of his homeland, of life or of the places he has been.

“For me, each lacquer painting is not just a work of art, but a part of the soul and family heritage. Therefore, in the present and in the future, my family and I have no intention of commercializing those precious things. I want these paintings to reach places that are truly meaningful, where their cultural and spiritual values ​​are honored. The rest will be kept in the family's private gallery, as a way to show gratitude to the art and heritage that I am preserving and continuing,” said painter Chu Nhat Quang.

Lacquer painting with gentle colors, peaceful landscape attracts viewers

As a young artist, Chu Nhat Quang does not follow trends or seek ease. He says "no" to copying styles and works, but always finds his own style and path, with the desire to create new, attractive art products with his own style.

Painter Chu Nhat Quang said that one of the reasons he chose and pursued lacquer painting was because it is a traditional painting genre, bearing the mark and identity of Vietnamese culture. This genre of painting was also considered one of the prides of the Vietnamese people. Therefore, he chose to paint lacquer paintings with the desire to contribute his small part to introducing and developing this genre of painting more to domestic and international friends...

It can be seen that Vietnam's lacquer craft, in recent decades, has been known to the world with many famous handicraft products and paintings. Experts say that the beauty of lacquer carries a strong inspiration of an ancient cultural tradition deeply imprinted in the consciousness of the Vietnamese people.

Up to now, lacquer material is considered to have contributed to the uniqueness of Vietnamese fine arts. Lacquer handicraft products and lacquer paintings are unique products and works, which need to be developed into unique cultural products, imbued with Vietnamese cultural identity.

Each painting of Chu Nhat Quang has simple, warm and familiar colors.

Coming up, on the occasion of the 70th anniversary of the Liberation of Hanoi Capital (October 10, 1954 - October 10, 2024), 50 lacquer paintings by artist Chu Nhat Quang will be displayed at the Thang Long Imperial Citadel Relic Site. The 50 paintings represent Chu Nhat Quang's memories, nostalgia and feelings, with the consistent inspiration being the national spirit, water puppetry, and images of Hanoi - the place where the artist was born and has a lot of love for.

This is a special event not only for painter Chu Nhat Quang to introduce Vietnamese lacquer art to the public and art lovers nationwide, but also a connection between the past and the present, between cultural heritage and creative innovation.

According to artist Chu Nhat Quang, all of his ideas have been cherished for a long time, with research and deep cultural awareness, just waiting for a suitable material to sublimate - that is lacquer.

Painter Chu Nhat Quang expressed his desire to contribute to the development and expansion of the community of young painters who are passionate about traditional lacquer art. He plans to coordinate with a number of educational, vocational training, and social work units to open painting classes for children and autistic children.

In his first solo exhibition, artist Chu Nhat Quang did not focus on attracting collectors but only wanted to send the public a message about the close connection between national identity and contemporary art, spreading pride in Vietnamese lacquer in today's fast-paced life. He aspires to contribute to honoring and spreading traditional cultural values ​​to international friends, affirming the position of national art in the international arena.

Source: https://www.congluan.vn/chu-nhat-quang--nguoi-bao-ton-tranh-son-mai-truyen-thong-post310170.html