Colour cords: Painter Nguyễn Quốc Dân poses next to a painting which will be on display at his Non Cubism – Portrait 2016 exhibition.

HCM CITY — The inner emotions and feelings about the life of the painter Nguyễn Quốc Dân, who spent his childhood living on the street and later in an orphanage, has been exposed in his artworks that will be on display to the public from Wednesday in his studio in HCM City.

Depicted in the silence, sadness, delusion and passion of different human characters, 11 of his large-sized (from 2m by 2m to 2m by 5m) oil-on-canvas paintings will be unveiled in his fourth solo exhibition, entitled Non Cubism – Portrait 2016.

Dân said that portraying different human emotions is also the way to express his own sensations and viewpoint about life. The characteristic of these works is creating impressions through endless strokes, or “colour cords” in the painter’s words. The ‘cords’ visually interact with or against each other, making an impact on the viewers’ eyes.

Before the Non Cubism – Portrait 2016, Dân previously presented his “colour cords” paintings in his exhibitions Non Cubism in 2011, Multicolour Non Cubism in 2012 and Non Cubism Chalk in 2014.

Born in the central province of Quảng Nam, the 32-year-old artist lived through many hardships during his childhood. He used to be homeless, living on the street, sometimes even in the dump. He earned a living by selling newspapers and iced tea, washing dishes and cleaning in restaurants. He stopped his primary school education as his mother couldn’t afford his studies before being sent to an orphanage in Hội An. The charming beauty of the small ancient town lured the then teenage boy’s mind into expressing that charm on paper.

“Since then I fell in love with painting. However, I had to wait a few years before I could focus on learning to paint thanks to the support of two kind-hearted Western men, who realised my passion for the art,” he recalled.

In 2003, Dân enrolled in the HCM City Fine Arts University, where he started to find his own path. Two years after graduation, the artist had his debut solo exhibition, showcasing artworks in which all the objects were formed by “colour cords”. His works so far have always used “colour cords” to present his ideas.

The Non Cubism – Portrait 2016 is showing at 12 Nguyễn Huệ Street, District 1, HCM City until May 5. — VNS

Visually stunning: A painting that will be shown at the Non Cubism – Portrait 2016 exhibition by Nguyễn Quốc Dân.