Young at art: Vu Tuan Kiet stands in front of two of his drawings at an exhibition of his work entitled Kiet - One Year Freedom. — VNA Photo

HA NOI — A young painter has surprised art audiences in Ha Noi with an artistic outlook that is surprisingly mature for a nine-years-old.

Vu Tuan Kiet has already exhibited some of his paintings in the capital city, and audiences at his show titled Kiet - One Year Freedom had the chance to see 46 small-sized paintings drawn with traditional ink on white paper.

The child painter's subject matter is unusually diverse, with the pictures exploring themes of rural urbanisation, environmental pollution and co-existence between people and animals.

His work also features many images of breasts, which according to Kiet symbolises the source of life.

Exhibition visitor Le Quang, a German literature translator, said he was startled by the art work because the painter's thinking was unlike that of an ordinary child.

"It is normal if the painter was 20 years old," Quang said, commenting about a painting exploring rural urbanisation.

Some parents who visited the show said they had difficulty explaining the subject matter to their children, as some of the paintings examined adult issues such as jealousy and relations between men and women.

Kiet, who looks a little smaller than an average nine-year-old child, said he was more fond of playing around with his brother and his dog than speaking about his work.

Born in 2003 into a wealthy family, Kiet decided to stop going to school last year in order to focus on his own studies, centreing on topics such as foreign languages, violin playing and painting. He also loves gardening and raising pets.

Kiet's works are on show in front of the Luala fashion store at 61 Ly Thai To Street until April 25. — VNS