Bui Huu Hung – Preserver of memories’ breath
Within the currents of contemporary Vietnamese art, artist Bui Huu Hung stands apart for his mastery of traditional lacquer painting. Whether depicting elegant women in ancestral attire, the grandeur of ancient palaces, or meditative natural scenes, his works open a passage connecting viewers with a bygone era. Each canvas is more than a visual experience - it is an invitation to rediscover the poetic soul of Vietnam’s cultural heritage.
About artist Bui Huu Hung
Born in 1957 in Hanoi, Bui Huu Hung is recognized as one of Vietnam’s eminent contemporary lacquer artists. A graduate of theHanoi Fine Arts University, he is also a member of the International Association of Lacquer Painters. Over decades of artistic dedication, his works have graced exhibitions both in Vietnam and abroad, from Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City to London, Paris, Hong Kong, Singapore, Dubai, and Miami.
Raised in a family steeped in lacquer tradition, Bui Huu Hung possesses an intimate understanding of the materials and techniques required - forging, layering, polishing, and finishing - necessary for the demanding lacquer art. This dual heritage, balancing artisanal expertise with an artist’s vision, has become his signature: a practice grounded in technical mastery without being confined by tradition.
In his creative journey, Bui Huu Hung deftly exploits lacquer’s potential for layering and luminous reflection. Shades of crimson, jet black, earthy brown, and regal gold are juxtaposed to conjure atmospheres at once noble and dreamlike. Rather than literal illustration, images of women in antique dress, imperial life, classical motifs, bamboo groves, boats, herders, or village landscapes are depicted with evocative subtlety. Through the confluence of traditional materials, nuanced palettes, and a rich symbolic imagery, the artist frames the timeless beauty of Vietnamese culture in a distinctly contemporary language.
Bui Huu Hung with his creations
Bui Huu Hung and the revival of memory through lacquer
Although he paints with many different materials such as oil paints, lacquers, acrylics, synthetic materials, sculptures, etc., Bui Huu Hung is still most famous for the lacquer material from his first works. Coming from a family with a traditional painting profession, Bui Huu Hung entered the world of painting very early and is one of the leading painters who experimented with lacquer in the Doi Moi era. The themes in his works always revolve around stories about the palace, noble women, historical scenes, and traditional costumes. All of them are tinged with antiquity, containing the tones of the old days through the depth of work and skillful techniques of Bui Huu Hung.
Art lovers, when referring to him, probably always remember the image of a woman in an aristocratic royal costume. Although he did not use any real historical characters, Bui Huu Hung was still inspired by the deep inner feelings as well as the inner sadness of women in the imperial regime at that time. From that very imagination, the work, although classic, never loses the creative charm of the artist.
These lacquer works make viewers sink into a fantasy sky, leaving them to wonder about the human story from the past. Getting these ancient feelings through viewing works, it’s really rare that anyone can do it like Bui Huu Hung.
Besides the kings and queens, Bui Huu Hung also left a special mark on landscape paintings. The traditional lacquer technique is used to the fullest extent by the artist to portray the deep tones of nature. Bui Huu Hung is often inspired by bamboo. His paintings tend to have a single tone but are still separated into two separate color blocks. On the background of dense foliage, Bui Huu Hung often focuses on the main subject with delicate, thin, and sharp drawings.
Painter Bui Huu Hung was born in 1957 in Hanoi and is a member of the International Lacquer Painters Association. His works have been exhibited in many places around the world, such as London, Norway, New York, Bulgaria, Poland, Belgium, and Vietnam. With his great contributions to Vietnamese fine arts, Bui Huu Hung’s works are always welcomed by art lovers and leading collectors.
Notable lacquer works by Bui Huu Hung
Mandarin’s wife
“Mandarin’s wife” showcased at Green Palm Gallery and measuring 122 x 122 x 122 cm, transports viewers into the timeless world Gai Huu Hung returns to again and again: Vietnamese women steeped in the culture and society of the past. Every detail - from the ornate jewelry and brocade fabrics to poised posture - embodies dignity and grace. Yet behind their composed appearances, subtle facial expressions, distant gazes, and serene stances divulge the quiet strength and intricate inner lives of these women - intimate emotions rarely voiced.
With a muted palette of burgundy, antique gold, and deep ochres, Bui Huu Hung accentuates the subject's elevated social position and inherent elegance. The depth of the lacquer, alongside classical motifs, casts a patina of time across the entire composition.
The image of the empowered woman in a patriarchal era is strikingly revived through “Mandarin’s wife”
Red dream
“Red dream” is a lacquer painting measuring 122 x 122 cm. In lacquer art, red gains remarkable depth when contrasted against black, gold, or muted tones. In Bui Huu Hung’s world, red recalls not only pigments and lacquer bases but also rituals, attire, and the radiant ambiance of a vanished era. Details such as ancient vases, bowls, coins, chests, and calligraphic characters allude to memories and private obsessions, blending personal recollection with the grandeur of a golden age.
The marriage of the evocative title and timeless medium imparts a sense both classic and surreal, the past does not reappear unchanged, but dissolves in dreamlike, vibrant, and mysterious forms.
“Red dream” conjures a fleeting, otherworldly vision of a resplendent, vanished age.
Quiet moment
Unlike many of his works, typically set in square formats, “Quiet moment” is composed within a circular frame, evoking a closed yet rhythmic visual field - one conveying a sense of endless, cyclical movement. This creative choice elongates the silence and longing infusing the work, stretching it beyond the painting’s borders.
Saturated in hues of deep red and solemn gold, a cluster of bamboo and a village river surface from a scene almost suspended in time. Familiar elements become more than mere memory - they evoke a meditative, internal landscape where time slows and every sound fades into stillness.
The dense, hushed atmosphere of “Quiet moment” envelops its subjects in a profound silence.
The lacquer paintings of Bui Huu Hung do more than preserve images of Vietnam’s rich heritage, they revive moods, emotions, and the ineffable spirit of its past. Art lovers are invited to explore his works at Green Palm Gallery and experience firsthand the profound depth of this unique world of Vietnamese lacquer.
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GREEN PALM GALLERY Gallery in Ha Noi: 39 Hang Gai, Ha Noi, Viet Nam
Gallery in HCM City: 49 Mac Thi Buoi, HCM City, Viet Nam
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