Each Truc Chi painting has a soul.

With a passion for Truc Chi paintings, for over 10 years, artist Nguyen Phuoc Nhat - a son of Quang Tri - has been tirelessly creating paintings that are highly appreciated for their artistic quality. Through his works, Phuoc Nhat wishes to contribute to building a new cultural value with all his love as a way to show gratitude to his homeland that has given birth to and nurtured the source of culture and creativity.

Creative diligence

“Truc Chi Garden” at 52 Nguyen Phuc Nguyen, Huong Long Ward, Hue City, Thua Thien Hue Province is crowded with foreign tourists and shoppers on weekends. This is a place to display all works from religious paintings, decorative paintings to paper fans, hats, lanterns... made from Truc Chi.

While busy introducing products to customers, when seeing us, artist Nguyen Phuoc Nhat, Deputy Director of Truc Chi Vietnam Art Company Limited, promptly handed over the work to his colleagues to welcome the visiting compatriots.

Painter Nguyen Phuoc Nhat diligently creates - Photo: TP

Taking us on a tour of “Truc Chi Garden”, Mr. Nhat said: “In simple terms, Truc Chi is a type of paper made from available fiber materials such as: bamboo, straw, sugarcane, banana, duckweed, corn, pineapple, strawberry, grass, leaves... Each Truc Chi work has a completely different beauty”. Truc Chi graphic technique is based on the combination and improvisation of 3 factors: traditional handmade paper making process; water pressure technique and the principles of graphic art.

Artists can create works based on the principles of metal engraving and transparencies, creating many shades according to the thickness, structure, composition, and lighting effects on the paper surface. Or they can also use water pressure to draw directly on wet paper to produce the desired works. This creates a system of layers, shades, and subtle tones for graphic - paper works that have only been available at Truc Chi.

At the end of 2013, while struggling to choose a topic for his pre-graduation project, Mr. Nhat had the opportunity to work with Mr. Phan Hai Bang, a lecturer at Hue University of Arts, who is also the founder of Truc Chi in Vietnam. Not only was he impressed by the story of the journey of building new artistic values ​​for Vietnam by Mr. Bang and his colleagues, but the student that year was also fascinated by the unique art that Truc Chi brought.

“Truc Chi has the ability to transform and promote beauty in both visual arts and applied arts, creating a mutually supportive relationship between the two. But I believe that Truc Chi has many other potentials that have not been fully discovered. That is also the reason why after graduating, I decided to stick with “Truc Chi Garden” until now,” Mr. Nhat recalls.

“Watching the Moon” is his first work at Truc Chi Vietnam Art Company Limited and was displayed at the 2014 North Central Fine Arts Exhibition. It is known that Mr. Nhat had to spend nearly half a month to come up with the idea, design and complete the work. Under the water pressure and his skillful hands, the painting “Watching the Moon” with the subject of fish and the moon appears vivid and extremely realistic.

During more than 10 years working here, artist Phuoc Nhat has constantly researched, studied, and created many impressive works, attracting both art enthusiasts and demanding customers. Up to now, his works have participated in nearly 50 art exhibitions at home and abroad.

Thereby, helping him bring home many prestigious awards in his career such as: First prize in the Thua Thien Hue handicraft product design contest 2023; Third prize in the National Youth Fine Arts Festival Exhibition 2022; Encouragement prize in the 5th National Applied Fine Arts Exhibition, 2022; Third prize in the Portrait Exhibition of President Ho Chi Minh 2018...

Creating a "soul" for Truc Chi

Painter Phan Hai Bang, the “father” of Truc Chi art, once commented on the painter from Vinh Linh: “Phuoc Nhat is a hard-working, studious and creative person. Since coming into contact with Truc Chi art, this painter has created his own personal mark through each of his works, especially in the field of applied arts. Phuoc Nhat is also one of the few painters who have created the “soul” of Truc Chi with unique, intimate and luxurious designs.”

Many people enjoy seeing and making Truc Chi paintings themselves - Photo: TP

As someone who contributed to bringing Truc Chi art closer to the public, most customers who came to visit and enjoy the paintings at “Truc Chi Garden” were full of praise for the themes and the ability to depict vivid images of Mr. Nhat. Notably, not only are they different in appearance, but each work he created seems to have its own “soul”. The themes he chose are quite diverse, but mostly revolve around lotus flowers, fish, villages, landscapes, and the country of Vietnam.

Painter Nguyen Phuoc Nhat was born and raised in Tien Lai village, Vinh Lam commune, Vinh Linh district. Having been involved with Truc Chi art since his days as a student at the Faculty of Applied Fine Arts, Hue University of Arts, Hue University, up to now, Nhat has been working in the profession for more than 10 years.

In the process of learning about Truc Chi art, we were surprised to discover that the teacher, artist Phan Hai Bang, is also a son of Hai Lang, Quang Tri. In 2011, he and his colleagues successfully researched the method of making handmade paper from straw, bamboo, sugarcane... From that paper material, he began to apply it to the creation of visual arts and applied arts.

Among the happy and sad stories throughout his long career, Mr. Nhat still cannot forget the memory of the 4 works "Mother's Rice Grains" being... bitten by rats. Inspired by the hard work of his parents "selling their faces to the ground, selling their backs to the sky" growing rice, making rice grains to raise their children, Mr. Nhat cherished the idea and invested a lot of time and effort to complete the work.

But before he could be happy about completing his fourth work, he “half-laughed, half-cried” when he discovered that his work had been bitten by rats. “At that time, I was very sad and regretful. But then I encouraged myself, probably because the rats thought the work “Mother’s Rice Grain” was real rice,” Nhat joked. The work “Mother’s Rice Grain” from the set of four works was revised into a set of two works and later helped him win the Third Prize at the National Youth Fine Arts Festival Exhibition in Hanoi in 2022.

" Nine Dragons Competing for a Pearl"

As a new art form of Vietnam, born from the cradle of the ancient capital of Hue, the dragon theme is always exploited to the fullest by the artists of Truc Chi Vietnam Art Company Limited. And Mr. Nhat is no exception. The young artist shared: “The image of the dragon and the ancient pattern system is a very good group of topics, with a rich source of data for us to research and create.

For example, if the dragons of the Ly - Tran period had long, sinuous bodies, tusks on their heads, manes and winding trunks, then in the Le period, the dragons had more recognizable features such as a large nose and a large, strong body combined with clouds and fire to create a powerful and majestic appearance. In the Nguyen period, the dragons were shaped in more diverse and varied forms, showing more strength, with scaly bodies and fiercer faces. These dragon images also bring new colors to our works."

Painter Nguyen Phuoc Nhat created many Truc Chi paintings on the theme of "Dragon" - Photo: TP

Over the years, Mr. Nhat has created many products inspired by dragons. However, the most impressive painting for him is still the “Nine Dragons Fighting for a Pearl” painting. This is a famous story with the image of nine winding dragons. In the center is a precious pearl that is both protected and fought over by the mascots. “Nine Dragons Fighting for a Pearl” is a work that represents the ultimate power of the leader, a symbol of wealth and prosperity.

Many people already know this work expressed in different forms, but when seeing the work created by the skillful hands of artist Phuoc Nhat, they still cannot help but admire and marvel. Because the image of the dragon in his Truc Chi painting both shows softness and maintains unparalleled authority and strength. To complete the painting, he spent a lot of time to convey it in a close, realistic, vivid way and exude the meaning of the painting.

With his creativity and talent, artist Phuoc Nhat has brought out the unique visual language of Truc Chi art, expressing the national spirit imbued in each work and artwork. “Each Truc Chi painting has a soul and the artist is the one who breathes life into the painting. Therefore, to create an impressive work that captures the hearts of viewers, the artist must constantly learn, cultivate and be meticulous in every detail,” artist Phuoc Nhat shared.

Truc Phuong

Source: https://baoquangtri.vn/van-hoa-the-thao/hoa-si-nguyen-phuoc-nhat-moi-buc-tranh-truc-chi-deu-co-mot-linh-hon/183379.htm