Art Trail #01 – Travelling and Open Studio
Opening: 03 pm, Mon 18/09/2023
Composition camp: 18 – 24 Sep 2023
Open studio: 23 – 24 Sep 2023
Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort & Spa
No. 2 Lê Lai, Ward 5, Đà Lạt, Lâm Đồng
Registration link
From the organizer:
Lân Tinh Foundation, along with Annam Gallery and Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort and Spa, proudly invites art lovers to Art Trail #01 – Travelling and Open Studio with 3 artists Phạm Xeen, Phan Thị Thanh Nhã and Nguyễn Hà My.
The public is welcome to visit the artists’ studios during the 2 days of the Open Studio. Moreover, the audience has the opportunity to talk with the artists when registering to participate in the art tour from the following time slots on September 23 and 24:
+ 10 am – 12 pm
+ 02 pm – 04 pm
+ 04:30 pm – 06:30 pm
(Slots are limited and the form will be closed when there are enough participants)
Art Trail #01 – Travelling and Open Studio is an excursion for 3 young artists to the nostalgic space of traditional French architecture in Da Lat – which was once designated as a resort for French civil servants and soldiers during the colonial period. This plateau area with cool climate has caught the eyes of Dr. Alexandre Yersin, and Đà Lạt was born on Lâm Viên plateau in the late 19th century – early 20th century.
Each artist has 1 week at Ana Mandara Villas Dalat, during which they can find inspiration in the resort’s space or go around the city to start their first drafts. Each artist will have a personal studio space to organize their work in order to utilize the time of going on field trips and studio practice.
The theme of this artist retreat is about nature, the scenery of the mountains and forests of Da Lat, Ana Mandara and especially native plants. Ana Mandara Villas Dalat Resort is a French-inspired ensemble, hidden on the slopes of the pine forest enjoying the cool climate of the Central Highlands, Vietnam. The space consists of French luxury villas preserved from the 1920s that were later refurbished into guest rooms. The resort offers a casual, peaceful and charming atmosphere where guests are invited to enjoy a peaceful getaway. Each villa features a variety of European primary architecture such as Norman, Gothic, Romanesque, Provence, Spanish Revival and Savoie styles.
The artists’s distinct approaches will lead viewers to different visual journeys: Phạm Công Xeen through the lens of abstraction and an aim for an emotional connection with the subjects, Phan Thị Thanh Nhã with the perspective of a researcher with the accuracy of anatomy; and Nguyễn Hà My with the Japanese ikebana method which relies on purposeful composition and still life drawing.
About Artists
Phạm Công Xeen is a young painter who graduated as a Silk major at the University of Fine Arts of Ho Chi Minh City. His practice revolves around close-knit scenes, shops without human presence. With his latest series “Who/Where/When”, Xeen puts himself in the shoes of his father after a stroke, with vision and memory impairment. He uses oil paint, a material at his disposal when he took care of his father, to convey the emotions and spirit of the works in the most immediate and effective way, almost turning this material into one of his senses. For Xeen, composing means releasing emotions and welcoming empathetic perspectives.
Coming to this art retreat, Xeen seems to be traveling back to his university years when he had a field trip in Da Lat. The atmosphere at Ana Mandara Resort recreates the resort scene of French intellectuals in particular, and Da Lat is known as a resort away from the noisy metropolitan life. He will visit the resort space and then go to neighboring areas to seek creative inspiration.
Phan Thị Thanh Nhã is a Botanist and Botanical Artist and illustrator. She graduated with Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees in Biology, Faculty of Biology – Biotechnology, University of Natural Sciences, VNU-HCM. With a background as a scientific researcher, Thanh Nhã entered the Botanical Art community in 2021, after a long time drawing Botanical Illustration. With Botanical Art, she has more room to experiment with different materials and colors to create more vivid effects for plants without losing their scientific characteristics. Thanh Nhã was the first representative of Vietnam to be honored in the International Botanical Illustrations Competition at the Margaret Flockton Award in 2023 in Australia.
Coming to this artist retreat, Thanh Nhã will spend time every morning to survey plants in Ana Mandara’s surroundings. When she finds the subject she wants to draw, she will take pictures and take samples back to her room for further observation, ideation and practice.
Hà My is a young painter, who graduated in Graphic Design at Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Art. With an affection for nature and the desire to store the sceneries she observes in the most vivid and accurate way, she has chosen to pursue Chinese traditional paintings with the theme ornithology-flower. Using methods such as Copy Master or the Six Guiding Laws in Chinese painting, Hà My believes in grasping the masters’ techniques to fully convey the essence of nature. She mainly chooses her subjects which are typical local creatures and plants of Vietnam.
Coming to this artist retreat, Ha My wants to explore the natural scenery in Đà Lạt. Besides, the architecture at Ana Mandara designed in Indochinese style can also be a source of inspiration for her.
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