Dinh Quan

December 20, 2014

Dea K.

Dinh Quan is a Vietnamese artist, best known for his innovative approach to the traditional art of lacquer painting, in which way he develops a unique and dynamic style variation to the traditional technique.

Dinh Quan was born in 1964, in the coastal city of Haiphong, North Vietnam. He studied lacquer painting at the Hanoi Fine Arts College, and graduated in 1990. On a self-described journey towards enlightenment, Dinh Quan is today recognized as one of Vietnam’s most important artists. Through his development of the art form he has adapted the medium to include alternative techniques and other art disciplines such as sculpture, intertwining together his memories of youth, his emotions, the history of Vietnam and also his Buddhist beliefs.

The female essence has been the heart of his works, expressing the fundamental female form, strong and resilient, in every layer of lacquer. Depicted in refined, surrealist style, his ghostlike women are at the same time sensual and venerable. In Vietnam and Buddhist cultures, the female icon serves not only as an icon of passion, but rather in her embodiment of strength, hope and creativity. ‘I honor women for the love, despair and doubt that they impart to me’, as the artist states.

In his recent works, questions of subjects and viewpoints undergo subtle inflections toward their material, spatial and historical dimensions. Although his dialogue is not overtly political, he has seamlessly moved from the surreal to the everyday with an open-ended conclusion. Whether autobiographical or drawn from the lives around him, he continues to focus on relationships, always keeping the current social and political situation of Vietnam in mind.

Dinh Quan has exhibited extensively internationally, including in China, Japan, France, Singapore, Norway, Philippines, Hong Kong, the United States, United Kingdom, Thailand at Thavibu Gallery, Taiwan, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Belgium, Italy, and South Korea. His works are in the museum collections of the Singapore Art Museum, Vietnam Fine Arts Museum and the National Art Gallery of Malaysia.