With his passion and artistic talent, DTU Faculty of Applied Arts lecturer MA Nguyen Tien Viet has achieved considerable success in his field. Recently, his woodcut print “Return” was awarded second prize (no first prize was awarded) at the Danang Fine Arts 2023 exhibition by the Art Council of the Danang Fine Arts Association. The work had already won a third prize in the Vietnamese Cultural Heritage through Painting contest organized by the central committee of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association.
Impressive collection of awards
At the Danang Fine Arts 2023 exhibition from December 9 to 24, 2023, at the Danang Fine Arts Museum, “Return” by MA Nguyen Tien Viet was one of the 54 most outstanding works by painters and sculptors from Danang to be selected by the Art Council of the Fine Arts Association of the city for second prizes of 2023 and display at the exhibition. Mr Tien Viet’s Return is a symbolic work that blends painting with architecture to recreate not only the beauty of the ancient Nguyen Dynasty but also to create a space of romance and lyricism. With its gentle and bright color scheme, Return truly evokes a glorious part of Vietnamese history.
MA Tien Viet (far right) received a second prize at the Danang Fine Arts 2023 exhibition
“On a flight from Hanoi to Danang, I could read an article about the golden Hoang De Chi Bao seal,” Mr Tien Viet says on the idea behind “Return”. “This made me eager to immediately start drawing and capture the ideas that flashed through my mind. Beginning from a treasure, the swirling details evoke a sense of time spinning and lead us from that treasure on a journey through time back to the years of the Nguyen dynasty court. Additionally, the presence of majestic royal architecture and tombs creates an everlasting mark of time. This gives the work its lyricism and the essence of poetic Hue, as if breathing and moving along with the flow of time.”
Mr Tien Viet spent over 45 days to diligently carve and draw “Return”. After a lot of time spent on thorough research into the history of the imperial seal, he meticulously selected each image and motif for the work and skillfully combined them to create unity and rhythm in the image.” Return” is furthermore relatively large for a print (measuring 70 cm by 190 cm) and is a composite, multi-layered woodblock print, which requires precision and care when carving and inking to produce the most flawless work possible.
The beauty and artistic value of Mr Tien Viet’s “Return” have also been recognized by the central committee of the Vietnam Cultural Heritage Association. The work was selected for a third prize in the Vietnamese Cultural Heritage through Painting contest, to be officially awarded in January 2024.
Mr Tien Viet with “Return”
Mr Tien Viet already created many other artistic works and set down impressive accomplishments. Notably, he won second prize (no first prize was awarded) at the Danang Fine Arts 2020 exhibition with Cozy Mountain Night and a C prize at the 2019 Literature & Arts Awards organized by the Vietnam Union of Literature & Arts Associations with Fate, and many other pieces of his were selected for display at both domestic and international exhibitions.
Lecturer with passion for printmaking
After obtaining a Bachelor’s degree in Graphics from the Hue College of Arts and a Master’s degree in Theory & History of Applied Fine Arts from the Hanoi University of Industrial Fine Arts, Mr Tien Viet joined DTU in 2017. He is currently the Director of Basic Graphics at the Faculty of Applied Arts and he teaches the courses on Drawing, Foundations of Plastic Art, Anatomy for Plastic Art, and Comic Design.
“Besides teaching at DTU, printmaking (manual graphics) is one of the passions that occupies most of my time,” Mr Tien Viet explains. “I believe that, as long as you’re passionate about something, you’ll find the motivation to strive and do well in it. I therefore always try to pass on this passion to my students through my teaching, and help them maintain this flame, so they’d remain committed to themselves and their work, and love it as their very life source. Doing so, all the best things will come to them, and their dreams will surely come true.”
“Return”
Woodcut printing is one of the art forms that most inspire Mr Tien Viet, as is the case for his idol Tran Nguyen Dan, who received the epithet “the banyan tree in the field” in the Vietnamese woodcut community. Mr Tien Viet is also working on a personal style in another art form: carved lacquer. So far, he has created over two hundred works in various genres: black-and-white woodcuts, woodcut prints of various types, carved lacquer, and pen drawings. This diversity demonstrates his creativity and ability to adapt to different artistic styles and techniques. Many of his works have been acquired by art lovers.
With his passion and enthusiasm, Mr Tien Viet’s lectures at DTU inspire many young people with a love for art. He was also the one who encouraged a group of DTU students of Graphic Design to boldly design and create a comic book, which garnered interest and love from lots of young people. This comic, Lovesickness, was adapted from the novel The Girl from Yesterday by Nguyen Nhat Anh. The same students are also completing a work The School Ghost to appear soon.
Mr Tien Viet’s dream is to organize his own picture exhibition with all his unique artworks. This exhibition would allow the public to enjoy and appreciate his creativity and woodcutting talent and his ability to convey meaningful messages through his art.
(Media Center)