Artisans Biography

Dao Hai Phong was born in 1965, during the innovation period contemporary Vietnamese fine art. He graduated from the Vietnam University of Art in 1987, majoring in Cinematic Graphic Design. He joined the Vietnam Film Studio in 1987 and soon became the chief designer of the studio. He achieved great success in the Vietnam cinema industry with an award for outstanding design at the Vietnam film festival. Dao Hai Phong started painting when he was just a child but not until the early 1990s did he decide to become a professional painter. His works mainly inspired by the landscape and nature, like roofs, straws, hills or rows of red trees. He has always been known for his brilliant use and combination of colorful colors together to create a mysterious symphony of creativity and human emotion. While human figures are rarely seen in Dao Hai Phong’s paintings, there are always elements of life existing through lights and colors. Dao Hai Phong's artworks are exhibited, performed and included in art collections of Vietnam, Singapore, England, Switzerland and many other countries around the world.

Artist Nguyen Diep Phuong was born in 1942 in Hanoi. At the age of 15, he started to pursuit art by joining the private class ‘Sang Tao’ (Creativity) by late artist Pham Viet Song. It was a very special art class at the time because of its low tuition fee, flexible time and a supportive teaching approach by artist Viet Song. Two years later in early 1960, however, Nguyen Diep Phuong had to drop his study due to difficult family situation. His first job was for Hanoi Art Company, a part of Hanoi Department of Culture. He was responsible for promoting the government visual politics through wall panels, posters, banners, wall painting, etc… after the liberation of Hanoi. From 1980 to 1992, artist Nguyen Diep Phuong was assigned to organize exhibitions at the Hanoi Exhibition Centre, where he once held the vice director position.